Thanks for Your Enthusiasm

By Paul Eisenstein June 4th, 2008

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Plant closings, layoffs, record oil prices, massive losses--some days, we at TheCarConnection.com feel like we need a double dose of Prozac before setting down at the blogboard. So it's nice when we hear someone lend a little positive energy to the situation.

But it admittedly took us by surprise when that someone was Steve Miller, the hard-driven CEO of Delphi Corp., the mega-supplier that is struggling to emerge from bankruptcy. Miller, who has salvaged any number of companies, from Waste Management to Bethlehem Steel, has often been portrayed as the omen of doom, or worse, as the lead Horseman of the Apocalypse. Arguing the sky was ready to fall, he won billions of dollars in concessions from Delphi workers and set in motion the cutbacks sweeping through the automotive parts industry.

So when Miller agreed to appear before the Detroit Economic Club today, one could almost imagine the problems he would portend, considering the latest surge of bad news from the city's Big Three automakers. Surprise, surprise.

In spite of record oil prices, plant closings, and other cutbacks, Miller insists the future looks quite bright for the auto industry, the Big Three, in particular.

"I conclude there will be a strong American-based auto industry for decades to come," he pronounced. "The question is which companies will be at the top when the dust settles. GM, Ford, and Chrysler, the ones we used to call the Big Three, have suffered massive share losses over the past 20 years and collectively no longer account for even a majority of the cars that we buy in this country. The winners going forward will simply be those who have the best products and who are the most cost-effective in producing them and who have the most flexibility to meet changing market conditions."

Miller was especially effusive when it came to the "game-changing" contracts the United Auto Workers Union approved last autumn, agreements that give the Big Three the ability to slash their collective headcount, while putting thousands of new employees on a lower, two-tier wage system.

Lest you conclude that the rich-as-Croesus executive is angling for a thems-that-got/thems-that-don't society, Miller also argued that it's time to take care of the American worker, notably by providing a national health care system. "We need to provide basic health care coverage to all of our citizens. There is no good reason that anyone in a country with America's resources should be left without reasonable access to health care." In typical form, the budget-minded Miller insisted that much of the health care system he proposes could be funded through savings of as much as $1 trillion annually, much of it simply by inaugurating advanced information control systems--and by reigning in malpractice suits.

Miller's appearance at the Econ Club was part of his seemingly endless book signing tour for his recently penned tome, The Turnaround Kid: What I Learned Rescuing America's Most Troubled Companies.

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3 Responses to “Thanks for Your Enthusiasm”

I cannot agree entirely with Mr. Miller. Everyone in this country has access to the best healthcare possible. No one is ever turned away at any emergency room. Those that have insurance pay for many who do not. There is tremendous room for improvement, but handing it to the government is not the way to solve the problem. Has anyone been to your local DMV office lately?

Ahem, have you actually been to an emergency room, lately, PG? If this is your idea of how to handle health care, you have a big surprise coming. I’m not specifically calling for national health care — but definitely not arguing against it, either. Those emergency rooms are costing you a fortune, if you do your research. A doctor, not an ER, is the way to treat a child with an earache. And a preventitive program is the way to prevent a bunch of ER visits, whether by the insured or uninsured. We clearly have a mess on hand, which is why folks like Miller, not your traditional socialist/liberal (believe me, I know Steve well) is suddenly sounding a clarion call like this.
Paul E.

Yes Paul, I have. I had to take my daughter a couple of months back when she stepped on a piece of glass outside. The only reason for the emergency room was because it was a Saturday afternoon and all the clinics are closed. No it was not cheap, but within 60 minutes they had x-rayed for objects in her foot (none) and stitched her foot. Off we went. Try that in any country with nationalized health care and it would have been a much different story. Maybe you should investigate the actual situation in countries that have this type of health care. All I have heard/read has been very poor to non-existant healthcare. The emergency room example is the extreme case and I was intending to illustrate that EVERYONE (illegal or not) in the US has access to NECESSARY treatment. No I do not take a earache to the emergency room, that is ridiculous. That would be a regular office visit with a regular payment. Are you saying that you expect FREE medical care? There are no free lunches or medical care! There is room for improvement in the cost of the US system, but having the government in control is not the answer. The government will add cost and reduce service. That is the government’s track record on everything. The government is not our nanny.