Lee Iacocca: ENOUGH! WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE?

[Warph]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/iacocca.asp


This makes sense no matter what political party you might be for...... Republican or Democrat.

This might have already been posted here at one time but, if so, it needs repeating:



Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from it's death throes? He

has a new book, and here are some excerpts.


Lee Iacocca says:


"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clue-less bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course"

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned "Titanic". I'll give you a sound bite: "Throw all the bums out!"

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the " America " my parents and yours traveled across the ocean f or. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.

The Biggest "C" is Crisis !

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of a Mess. So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are sky rocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "The Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough?

Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope; I believe in America . In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the "Great Depression", "World War II", the "Korean War", the "Kennedy Assassination", the "Vietnam War", the 1970 s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this:

"You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to "Action" for people who, like me, believe in America . It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had "enough."

[frawin]

Awesome writing by an awesome man, I have always liked and respected  Iaoccoa, and I agree no matter what your politics are he is right.
Frank

[pam]

Ghandi said it best"Be the change you want to see in the world"

[sixdogsmom]

Yes, yes, &yes!

[Teresa]

I agree with what he says, but this is the guy who arranged for that "No-good government" to bail out his car company when it was going down the crapper. While my own business and many others were struggling... his buddies in the congress bailed his ass out.

They weren't all boneheads then, were they?

[flo]

  and tell me again, what was his salary when he was bailing Chrysler out?  Lined his pockets pretty well, I'd say.  AND, Yes, what he's saying is true.

[Wilma]

I seem to remember that he didn't take any salary during that time.  You guys, am I right?  Maybe that is what our legislators should do until they get us out of debt.

[sixdogsmom]

And Chrysler paid that loan back.

[Catwoman]

I vote that, not only do they not take any salary until we're out of debt, they should also have their "golden fleece" retirement perks jerked permenently and have to go on Social Security, just like the rest of us.  Any takers on how long it would take them to turn the SS mess around if THEY were the ones being impacted by it?  It makes my head spin to think how quick they'd get on the ball if they had to live by the same economic rules as the rest of us!

[sixdogsmom]

Approach your congressman about that issue, it might bear fruit. Who knows? I once worked on an unfair state income tax that taxed military retirement effort for three years. In the end we got a hearing from the Kansas Supreme Court who found that indeed the tax was unfair and demanded the state refund all taxes on those retirements from the previous seven years. We were also able to gain unemployment benefits that were denied by the state as being double dipping, as though the retirees were already getting unemployment benefits by retiring from the military. Those two things still stand for military retirees in the State of Kansas; not just from my own efforts but from many others who worked also. I might add that this was not an organized effort, at least on my part.