Detroit, GM, and the Final Four
by An interesting comparison of the Final Four and the economic crisis.
The ironic juxtaposition of GM and Chrysler going through their death throes in the same town that’s about to host college basketball’s Final Four, one of the most garish, opulent, and escapist spectacles in sports, boggles, and troubles, the mind.
There’s a kind of cognitive dissonance that results in a headache at best, and a heartache at worst, when one thinks of the hundreds of thousands of unemployed auto workers licking their wounds alongside the partying corporate and sports honchos.
Yes, there’s a positive side to this, as millions of dollars in commerce is coming to Detroit, an area starved for both commercial revenue and sales tax from that revenue. And the locals will embrace the temporary bump, while gritting their teeth knowing that it’s too fleeting to make a substantial and long lasting difference in their lives.
Michigan State earning it’s way to the Final Four also presents a study in contrasts with the likes of the auto executives who let the world, particularly the Japanese and Koreans, pass them by while they themselves crawled along in the slow lane, either devoid of innovative ideas or enacting them at a snail’s pace.
Had Michigan State lost, they’d be out, headed home, essentially fired. Their appearance at the big dance is a shining example of pure capitalism, survival of the fittest, at its best. The fact that it took 8 years and the government to get rid of Rick Wagoner as the head of GM is capitalism at its worst. Cronyism trumping creativity. Government intervention instead of free market forces running the show.
Michigan State is my sentimental favorite next weekend. It’d be nice to bring Motown’s residents a tiny sliver of joy in the midst of their troubles.
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