But, if General Motors is a mirror of the country's problems, and its survival is in question, what does this say about the country as a whole? We might compare General Motors' predicament to that of Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart is being attacked for not being General Motors, which is flirting with bankruptcy. The protesters want Wal-Mart to submit to the unions and to the take-care-of-you-for-life benefit plans that are driving GM and similar older corporations into oblivion.
The outcome of Wal-Mart's dilemma will reflect how courageous and entrepreneurial the management really is. One possibility is that they will cave to political pressure, meaning they will become the next generation's General Motors.
Or, they can be courageous and tell the truth. Talk about the new economy, the need for market-based health care reform where individual's get the same tax treatment as company's for health care purchases, the need to evolve benefits out of companies and letting individuals take care of themselves, and the need for private Social Security accounts.
When I first went off welfare, I took a part-time job with a food distribution company. I loved the work and the opportunity. Soon the union workers were onto me, pressuring me to join. I was just tasting the beauty of freedom and had little interest in any new paternalistic arrangements. Increasing pressure from them drove me out of the company.
During this year's holiday season, let's remember the pilgrims and what made this country great.
A constitution designed to protect individual liberty, a bible that provides a roadmap for the good and moral life, and a will to take personal responsibility for improving one's own life and for making the world a better place.