Forward to the Past

The recent auto industry debacle has the news networks jumping for joy. More fodder for FOX. And the hearings! Senators seek to scuttle the unions, while the commander in chief leaves the reservation to swoop down and save the world from the big business boogie men. To those unfamiliar with the inner workings of mega-corporations, it seems cut and dry, open and shut. Kick out the greedy CEOs and bring in a new "management team" (the latter being an oxymoron.)

To those of us who've spent many years in the belly of the beast, it's no secret that a change in leadership usual results in a negative impact on a company (read: employees). The new crew unfailingly make their mark by wreaking havoc. And after creating enough chaos and carnage, they pull the rip chords on their golden parachutes and float safely to another organization desperate to recover from the legacy of it's own departed set of deal makers and deciders.

What an unnerving surprise awaits the unsuspecting and hopeful hordes. They quickly learn that they've swapped one crop of incompetents for their doppelgangers. Their unpleasant and largely unknown secret to personal success is that they are carbon-copies of their predecessors. New does not equal improved. The empty suits are all the same - incompetent, ego maniacal, misanthropic megalomaniacs. But the stakeholders are delighted to have exacted their revenge at their own expense. And the press eats it up, happy to spew the swill through their propaganda machines.

It's a show, folks, just a show. Until there's a fundamental change in the way our country does business, the clones will continue their march to mediocrity, The light at the bottom of the hole we're trying to dig our way out of is Obama, and his team. This guy gets it. Not distracted by all the hoopla, he's focusing on the problems at hand, surrounding himself with smart, savvy people. Of course, they're all politicians, but that's the pond in which they must swim. The challenge is to avoid the traps without getting sucked down into the muck.

The titanic failures of the big three are just the tip of the iceberg. As the economy erodes it will impact all of us in different ways. Our kid are graduating from college with freshly-minted degrees and few choices to employ their knowledge. So they move back home with the folks. And WE are the folks. The DNA of the nuclear family is recombining out of necessity. Circle the wagons.

Perhaps there's a silver lining to the the gathering clouds. When our parents and grandparents first came to this country, they formed new communities of old friends and neighbors. Families lived across the street from one another, not across the country or half the way around the world. They shared a common language that spoke of their heritage and hereditary homes. Radio was a big deal, LCD stood for lowest common denominator, not liquid crystal display. Almost no one felt poor or rich, or coveted their neighbor's possessions. A warm bed, hot meal and dry roof were plenty. The Great Depression certainly oppressed many, but they were thankful for what little they had instead of hateful for what they lacked.

The term "family values" was not a political talking point, but rather the very fabric of society, made from whole cloth, that bound together the communities, towns, cities, states and ultimately the entire country.

And that's something money can't buy.