Where goes Detroit?

In the news today, "General Motors Corp. posted a fourth- quarter loss on a mounting deficit in North America and will offer buyouts to all of its 74,000 United Auto Workers employees in its latest effort to trim labor costs." Having married a born and raised Michigander, and graduating from Michigan Tech in 1963, I have strong emotional ties to the state, even though I grew up in Arkansas. When I was commissioned in the Army, the state became my home of record. The automobile industry then was incredibly successful. So much so that I remember receiving a Vietnam War $500 "bonus" from the state after each of the two combat tours I served: 1965-66 and 68-69. That amount back then was, to say the least, a VERY substantial sum to a young Army officer earning less than $300 a month. But, that was a different time. Today, the state government and it's automobile industry are struggling just to stay afloat. It's sad, but in many respects I think the automobile industry brought a lot of it on themselves. However, that's another story.