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It is simply a fact that higher labor costs put GM and Chrysler at a competitive disadvantage. That said, this is one of many problems. Simply put, current management has been terrible and needs to go. Bring in new talent with new ideas. On the other hand, Citi, AIG, and Morgan Stanley have a unique set of problems. One problem they do not have is excessive labor costs among the rank-and-file that prohibit them from competing successfully around the world. That’s why no one asked them to cut rank-and-file salaries in exchange for government handouts. Executive compensation is another subject entirely.
Completely agree and disagree simultaneously. Apart from management issues, and whether it's the Big 3 or financial companies, a simple fact remains: the rest of the developed, industrialized world has the health care and pension systems we lack. Of course our costs are higher. So, yes, GM and Chrysler are at a competitive disadvantage, but only because of the refusal by the trogloditic right to acknowledge the need for these things. Again, let me repeat, whether it's the Big 3, AIG, Citi or anyone else, the key point is the matter of national health and retirement benefits.
As for your last statement regarding cutting rank-and-file salaries, you're fooling yourself if you think this isn't an attack on labor unions. Of course it is.
