Was It Really That Long Ago?












Here’s the first verse:

Forty years on, when afar and asunder,
Parted are those who are singing today,
When you look back, and forgetfully wonder
What you were like in your work and your play,

Glimpses of notes like the catch of a song —
Visions of boyhood shall float them before you,
Echoes of dreamland shall bear them along.



Forty years on, growing older and older,
Shorter in wind, as in memory long,
Feeble of foot, and rheumatic of shoulder,
What will it help you that once you were strong?

God give us bases to guard or beleaguer,
Games to play out, whether earnest or fun;
Fights for the fearless, and goals for the eager,
Twenty, and thirty, and forty years on!



Dark Days in Detroit

Our drive from the Detroit airport to the northern suburbs took us past some of the most historic parts of the American car industry. It was impossible not to reflect on how the mighty have fallen, as stories of unemployment, foreclosures, federal rescues, and union victories filled the news.

The Obama Administration strong-armed Chrysler’s creditors into accepting a deal where the auto workers union was given 55% ownership of the company, while the secured creditors — who normally would have been first in line, in any non-political (i.e., following the law) bankruptcy — will have to be content with getting 29 cents on the dollar.

Some of the creditors are fighting back. They’ve appealed to the Supreme Court, charging that the agreement violates the law. The Court has put a temporary hold on proceedings, but no one gives the plaintiffs much of a chance of stopping the federal juggernaut.

The Chrysler agreement is a model of propriety compared to the government-brokered bankruptcy of General Motors, however. The biggest losers are those poor investors who bought GM’s bonds. Although they hold $27 billion in notes, all they’ll receive in the new set-up is a 10% stake in Government Motors.

Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers union, which is owed about $20 billion by GM, is being gifted with 17.9% of the company, plus $9 billion in taxpayer cash. As Barron’s Magazine noted, “Never has an American union done so well at the expense of shareholders and creditors.”

It’s easy to understand why the Obama Administration is engaging in such overt favoritism. Democrats know they have the unions to thank for their victories last November. Consider the numbers: Between 2000 and 2008, the UAW gave $23.7 million to the Democratic Party and its candidates. During the same crucial period, the once-powerful union gave $193,540 to Republican candidates. Anyone see a bit of a disparity here?

Fifty years ago, Detroit made cars we loved. But between union feather-bedding and government mandates (and yes, let’s be honest: a whole bunch of short-sighted stupidity on the part of auto execs), all of that changed. We began to disparage the cars Detroit made for us.

Meanwhile, a bunch of foreign car makers came to the U.S. They built their plants in the South, filled them with non-union labor, and began building cars the American consumer preferred. And Detroit was left further and further behind.

Ironically, when Ford, GM, and Chrysler could compete on a level playing field, most of the time they beat the competition. For years, the only place the Big Three have been profitable is outside this country. Ford and GM still make a ton of profits in Europe, Asia, and Latin American. But it will be a long, long time — if ever — before that is true in this country once again.

Forty years on brought a lot of changes to the American automobile industry. In the past year, little of it has been pretty, or fair, or even legal. Too bad. But as Bob Hope put it, “Thanks for the memories.”

Personal Liberty

Chip Wood


Join the Discussion
