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| Economy |
| Unburied bodies tell the tale of Detroit -- a city in despair |
| 2009-11-22 |
| The abandoned corpses, in white body bags with number tags tied to each toe, lie one above the other on steel racks inside a giant freezer in Detroit's central mortuary, like discarded shoes in the back of a wardrobe. Some have lain here for years, but in recent months the number of unclaimed bodies has reached a record high. For in this city that once symbolised the American Dream many cannot even afford to bury their dead. "I have not seen this many unclaimed bodies in 13 years on the job," said Albert Samuels, chief investigator at the mortuary. "It started happening when the economy went south last year. I have never seen this many people struggling to give people their last resting place." |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #25 Agree as to individuals, like Lutz; but as a group, Detroit management failed to confront its problems and now we are paying the price. They weren't prevented by a bolshevik labor union, they worked with, strengthened and built up the bolshevik labor union, because it was the easy way out. Visit Rouge River; it's pathetic, it'll make you want to puke. Too bad Lemuel Boulware didn't work for GM instead of GE. They're in the Goldman Sachs class as far as I cam concerned. All of them. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-11-22 21:03 |
| #24 there's a simple way to kill auto unions, stop buying any new cars, if you only buy used then the big 3 will hemorrhage cash till they either kick out the unions, or go out of business, either way Unions lose BIG |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-11-22 21:01 |
| #23 Nimble - I don't deny that mgmt sucked, but even the best mgmt-- and Bob Lutz is the best of the best-- can't overcome bogeys like the ones on the back of the Big 3. IIUC they were prevented by law from shutting down dealers in many states. They were prevented by a bolshevik labor union from eliminating ridiculous work rules and a ruinous healthcare compact that put EVERY SINGLE CAR at a huge cost disadvantage from the get-go. No marketing genius could have overcome those hurdles. And Bob Lutz made a damned good effort in the time he had at GM. |
| Posted by: lex 2009-11-22 19:47 |
| #22 Iraqi refugees move to Mich. despite poor economy |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-11-22 18:56 |
| #21 damn |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-11-22 18:43 |
| #20 Frank, I forget. Is the rule that we buy you a drink when you say F-150 or that you buy a round for the house? Either way, the club's open .... |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-11-22 18:42 |
| #19 Procopius2k: Actually I think that Soylent Green is Morningstar Farms and Bocaburger brand. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-11-22 15:28 |
| #18 Everyone is right. Politicians allowed the UAW to bury the auto manufacturers and management had to be bad in order for them to let their companies get buried by the union. Ultimately, the UAW got too big to succeed. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2009-11-22 15:04 |
| #17 ...being buried hasn't stopped them from voting why should unburied be any different? Get to vote in multiple districts since they're not stuck in just one? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-11-22 14:55 |
| #16 If they are unburied - can they still vote democrat? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-11-22 14:15 |
| #15 I would normally say "aim for the head", but seeing as how they are likely Former Democrat Zombies, would a brain shot even affect them? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-11-22 13:39 |
| #14 Lots of bodies illegally buried in toxic industrial dumps or simply tossed away in the abandoned and overgrown brownfield sites throughout the city. If you are looking for the locus of the forthcoming Zombie Apocalypse, Detroit is the place. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-11-22 13:16 |
| #13 Sorry, The management sucked. Not 100% of the time on every car, but all the time on the important issues. They didn't fight the unions and they tolerated crappy dealers when it was apparent that though painful things had to change. Those were definitely problems they did not create, but they tolerated and accommodated to them so they would not have to descend from their executive dining rooms. And their response to the challenge from Japan was to put the cost accountants in charge of developing styleless boxes that milked brand identity while destroying it. They lived in a fantasy world and now they're going to be repaid by being made government employees. Watch the UAW try to destroy Ford so they are forced to compete at the level of Government Motors and the Crisis Group. Or we can have a rematch of the Battle of the Overpass with different results. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-11-22 11:59 |
| #12 One word: F150. Drink up! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-11-22 11:56 |
| #11 "continued to make vehicles that Americans no longer wanted to buy" This is bulls#it. They made and sold tons of cars, trucks, and SUVs. They just couldn't make a profit on them due to the onerous UAW contracts. Exactly. They sold huge numbers of Buicks, Pontiacs etc. The problem was their inability to shut down production quickly and unwind unprofitable dealer relationships due to union contracts and state legislation created decades ago. The Big 3 could have been highly profitable had they been allowed to eliminate these albatrosses and reduce their operations to manageable size. They could not do so because of essentially POLITICAL relationships-- with labor and dealers-- not because of management mistakes. Also, the quality deficit vs the Japanese disappeared a long time ago, and most Ford models have quality superior to Mercedes and other Euro brands. The main reason for the gap was the need to save $$$ to overcome the $1500/vehicle bogey due to onerous health care obligations, which forced the Big 3 to skimp on quality parts. Plastic wears out faster than alloys. |
| Posted by: lex 2009-11-22 11:36 |
| #10 They might overcome this, as well as "go green".. Soylent Green is people! |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-11-22 10:29 |
| #9 They might overcome this, as well as "go green" by offering to dispose of the bodies the way natural history museums do, with a combination of maggots and cadaver beetles. That would leave just bare bones and spare parts, and the bones could be ground into powder and sanitized cheaply. The spare parts would be recycled. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-11-22 09:29 |
| #8 continued to make vehicles that Americans no longer wanted to buy This is bulls#it. They made and sold tons of cars, trucks, and SUVs. They just couldn't make a profit on them due to the onerous UAW contracts. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2009-11-22 09:23 |
| #7 It is evidence, they believe, of people who could not afford medical insurance and medicines and whose families can now not afford to bury them. If you wonder why your reps seem so suicidal in their desire to pass stimulus and health care bills this little editorial note, slipped in to make a push for health care, will help you to understand. Understand this and all they do starts to make sense. We are out of money. It was all one big Ponzi scheme that has ceased to pull in enough money to pay the layers underneath. Underfund pension plans, underfunded entitlements, there is not enough money to meet the empty promises they made to get elected. The people at the top got theirs, but there is not enough for those of us at the bottom. Right now, those at the top are trying to find ways to get an influx of cash to bury the local dead and to pick up the trash. They will devalue and tax your benefits until the net amount you receive is reduced near to nothing, if not a negative. You will be issued new health care "insurance" that insures next to nothing. They are out of money. It's that simple. Sure, they could fix it by getting the economy going again, but that would mean they would lose their power. In the mean time, there is no money to bury the dead and take out the rubbish. So they rob |
| Posted by: Jumbo Slinerong5015 2009-11-22 08:59 |
| #6 "Plenty of money for corruption and bureaucracy empire building." Well, of course, P2k - at least they've got their priorities straight. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-11-22 08:22 |
| #5 Plenty of money for corruption and bureaucracy empire building. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-11-22 07:57 |
| #4 They can't REALLY die under after the 2010 and 2012 elections. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-11-22 07:04 |
| #3 So how are those UAW contracts working for ya? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-11-22 01:51 |
| #2 most of the dead died of natural causes As opposed to being murdered in traditional Detroit style? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-11-22 01:36 |
| #1 How about a little stimulus here, guys? Fifty bodies doesn't sound like much of a problem to me. $10K ought to do it. Even for Detroit, that's pocket change. Michigan should fix this, maybe transfer some of that stimulus from District 0. Disgraceful. Unions, welfare, and corruption: the deadly combination. |
| Posted by: KBK 2009-11-22 01:22 |