Of all the places in our beleaguered country that is basically down and out none seems so down and out as Detroit. But things may change. The good: Big Three is far leaner with a workforce that is near competitive with those evil foreign dogs, meaning that their $57 per hour jobs (Yes, $57 per hour for what would be called semi-skilled anywhere else) are nearly safe. According to the NYT:

Ford made more money in the first six months of this year than in the previous five years combined. G.M. is profitable and preparing for one of the biggest public stock offerings in American history. Even Chrysler, the automaker thought least likely to survive the recession, is hiring new workers

But not to worry because the malcontents populating the UAW always want more from what they see as a corrupt business and will go after GM big time in next year's negotiations. Remember, with this union the work rules dominate and in some shops the rules run for hundreds of pages with each page being grounds for a work stoppage. We'll see what we see. Daily Beast has a more balanced view, keeping in mind that GM doesn't have to follow accounting rules so "who really knows?"