Justin Fox at Time has an interesting take on who Detroit hasn’t been shown the love.
Still, I wonder if there aren’t also some other factors at work in the relatively hostile reaction to the Detroit Three. Most Americans simply no longer identify with the domestic auto industry (or with the states of Michigan and Ohio). To the Southerners who now make up the core constituency of the Republican Party, it’s a bunch of coddled, unionized workers trying to get handouts that the South’s auto industry (Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Mercedes, BMW …) doesn’t need. To the coastal urbanites and suburbanites who now make up the core constituency of the Democratic Party, it’s an industry that makes crappy big cars and fights against higher fuel efficiency standards. And to the business press it’s the worst thing of all: a trio of companies that are neither exciting nor financially successful.
As sort of glib as this sounds, it’s actually a bit compelling. Obviously the reason Detroit has been denied access to TARP funds has more to do with the fact that the economy simply needs the finance sector to function than anything else, but it sure doesn’t help that the Big Three are pretty universally reviled by outsiders.
