The story about a strike in India crippling GM’s Delta Township plant fit nicely with a recent e-mail in which Fred Greene of Dansville questions the whole concept of domestic versus foreign:
“I wanted to make a few brief points that should not be overlooked by some of the overly self-righteous with regards to differentiating between foreign and American vehicles.
“- Any foreign manufacturer that builds or assembles vehicles in the U.S. is employing American workers …
“- Companies like Honda, Toyota etc. offer good wages and benefits, job security and safe working conditions — with or without union involvement.
“- Residual suppliers, manufacturers and distributors are used for various types of products and services.
“- My 2008 Honda Accord has 60 percent U.S./Canadian parts and was assembled in Marysville, Ohio.
“ - My 2007 Chevrolet LTZ truck shows no parts origin and was assembled in Ontario.
“People can defend the domestic auto industry to the death but they are where they are due to Americans not buying the vehicles. Our free enterprise system is based on, and driven by, competition.
“Are some of the profits going overseas? Absolutely. They’re in business to make a profit. They had the vision and made the commitment. We did not. Detroit’s arrogance and union bickering, finally caught up with them. Quite frankly, I’m surprised it took this long. I have no sympathy for stupidity.”
