Jim Fouts is angry

[BagAJellyDonuts]

I wonder how long until he wants to build Camp Warren?

[jtf1972]

The donate bit is a joke. According to the article, Henderson had suggested that if GM was to move to Warren they would donate the Ren Cen to the city of Detroit.

And here I thought Fouts was the joke!

[East Detroit]

Fouts should be happy that GM didn't fold. There would be no Tech Center.

Perhaps he will realize that in a few years when GM moves to China.

[R8RBOB]

And here I thought Fouts was the joke!

Oh Fouts is the joke and if I'm President Obama, I am passing out copies of Fouts' letter at the next Cabinet meeting to get a good laugh. If you are Obama, you are thinking you did a good thing to save GM and then you have a d-bag mayor of some city crying that he can't get his city to be called "the home of GM" though they already have a large GM presence. Fouts is an embarrassment.

[jcole]

I find it interesting it Fout's letter that he accuses the Whitehouse of " focusing more on helping Mayor Dave Bing than helping GM".
I'm curious as to what he meant by that.

[DC48080]

Anyone notice the resemblence?

[R8RBOB]

I find it interesting it Fout's letter that he accuses the Whitehouse of " focusing more on helping Mayor Dave Bing than helping GM".
I'm curious as to what he meant by that.

Now you know what he meant!!! Fouts was saying that Obama was willing to help Bing because he is.........wait for it............here it comes...........psst.......he's Black like me.

[jcole]

Now you know what he meant!!! Fouts was saying that Obama was willing to help Bing because he is.........wait for it............here it comes...........psst.......he's Black like me.

I knew that; it was just my lower key way of saying it.

[BagAJellyDonuts]

It's funny or ironic. Have things gone full circle. Coleman & Kwame were the "polarizing" political figures. Now it's the angry Fouts.

Can't wait to see this story get traction nationwide.

[R8RBOB]

It's funny or ironic. Have things gone full circle. Coleman & Kwame were the "polarizing" political figures. Now it's the angry Fouts.

Can't wait to see this story get traction nationwide.

Fouts is a clown. He knew last year that the White House would not approve a move out of Detroit. His so-called letter serves only one purpose: to embarrass Obama. He is hoping GOP News or Tea Party News BKA Fox News will pick up the letter and spend the next two months talking about how Obama helped out Bing because he was Black, how Obama convinced Bing and Ficano to bribe GM to stay at the Renaissance Center, how Obama cost GM millions they would have saved if they moved, etc.... The letter was red-meat for the dogs.

[Buy American]

If I remember correctly, GM was in big trouble, as was Chrysler. Mr. Fouts was only offering GM another place to hang their hats should they have to move from Detroit, which was a big possibility. Personally, I am glad that GM and Chrysler still have facilities in Detroit since they pay some taxes, are keeping jobs in the City and therefore keeps the CofD viable and my pension from the CofD may not be affected too much. However, for all of you who find fault with Mr. Fouts, no matter what peculiar characteristics he may or may not have, I give the man credit for trying to help the City of Warren of which he is mayor and it's his responsibility to do whatever is necessary to keep his city viable.
For some of you that drive foreign cars or argued against buying American automobiles, your postings are laughable at this stage of the game. You could have cared less about GM, Chrysler or Ford, where they were headquartered, whether or not they survivied or how many jobs were lost because of foreign trade. Now, all of a sudden, there's this big concern? Give me a break, we all know where your loyalties are.

WHAT YOU DRIVE, DRIVES AMERICA!
OUT OF A JOB YET, KEEP BUYING FOREIGN.

[Patrick]

I will say that Jim Fouts is far from stupid, regardless of is handlings of the GM HQ thing. The question remains if GM would have actually saved $$ had they relocated their HQ to Warren.

[R8RBOB]

If I remember correctly, GM was in big trouble, as was Chrysler. Mr. Fouts was only offering GM another place to hang their hats should they have to move from Detroit, which was a big possibility. Personally, I am glad that GM and Chrysler still have facilities in Detroit since they pay some taxes, are keeping jobs in the City and therefore keeps the CofD viable and my pension from the CofD may not be affected too much. However, for all of you who find fault with Mr. Fouts, no matter what peculiar characteristics he may or may not have, I give the man credit for trying to help the City of Warren of which he is mayor and it's his responsibility to do whatever is necessary to keep his city viable.
For some of you that drive foreign cars or argued against buying American automobiles, your postings are laughable at this stage of the game. You could have cared less about GM, Chrysler or Ford, where they were headquartered, whether or not they survivied or how many jobs were lost because of foreign trade. Now, all of a sudden, there's this big concern? Give me a break, we all know where your loyalties are.

WHAT YOU DRIVE, DRIVES AMERICA!
OUT OF A JOB YET, KEEP BUYING FOREIGN.

The issue isn't about how much Fouts wants to help GM or Warren. The issue is that "Mr. Fouts" came off like a whiny little bitch because Obama was just not in to him. Fouts knew a year ago the move to Warren wasn't going to happen and he could have let it go. Be a man and suck it up. However, thanks to Rattner's book, everyone knows how his "noble" attempt to help GM was shut down in its infancy by the President. So poor Mr. Fouts is looking like a lame and now he has to lash out against the President who probably wouldn't know Fouts from Mark Steenburgh.

[BagAJellyDonuts]

The issue isn't about how much Fouts wants to help GM or Warren. The issue is that "Mr. Fouts" came off like a whiny little bitch because Obama was just not in to him. Fouts knew a year ago the move to Warren wasn't going to happen and he could have let it go. Be a man and suck it up. However, thanks to Rattner's book, everyone knows how his "noble" attempt to help GM was shut down in its infancy by the President. So poor Mr. Fouts is looking like a lame and now he has to lash out against the President who probably wouldn't know Fouts from Mark Steenburgh.

IMO, the region on life support and guys like this getting press. Doesn't do anybody any good.

[R8RBOB]

I will say that Jim Fouts is far from stupid, regardless of is handlings of the GM HQ thing. The question remains if GM would have actually saved $$ had they relocated their HQ to Warren.

The answer is no because General Motors owns both the Renaissance Center and the Tech Center. In the mind of Fouts, GM could consolidate their work force to the Tech Center and sell the Ren Cen [[Question: who would want to buy the Ren Cen in these harsh times?) According to the story, Henderson wanted to give the Ren Cen to the city of Detroit. [[Give away a piece of property you spent 500 million to renovate, no wonder the board [read: the White House] dumped Henderson.) These were some of the great ideas how General Motors could save money yet someone forgot that GM make their money selling cars and no one was buying cars.

[Buy American]

The issue isn't about how much Fouts wants to help GM or Warren. The issue is that "Mr. Fouts" came off like a whiny little bitch because Obama was just not in to him. Fouts knew a year ago the move to Warren wasn't going to happen and he could have let it go. Be a man and suck it up. However, thanks to Rattner's book, everyone knows how his "noble" attempt to help GM was shut down in its infancy by the President. So poor Mr. Fouts is looking like a lame and now he has to lash out against the President who probably wouldn't know Fouts from Mark Steenburgh.

If you were a legal analyst I'd pay more attention to your perception of Mr. Fouts, however, I don't think that's the case. Mayor Fouts has his idiosyncrasies but he is a man of integrity and an honest politician. Today, that is almost impossible to find. If he hadn't made an effort to lure GM to Warren [[after GM threatened to leave Detroit), the people would have come down on him anyway....so it's damned if you do, damned if you don't. At least Mayor Fouts made efforts to continue the Buy American policy, that's much more than I've seen from others. You are right about Obama not knowing who Mayor Fouts is, Obama isn't in touch with the realities of the world and the working person from any aspect that I've seen. I am very disappointed in Obama....his major interest seems to be vacations or sending his wife and 40 of their friends to Spain while people here in Michigan are fighting to get unemployment checks, fighting to keep their homes, trying to figure out where their next meal is coming from. Obama has become one of the "elite" class, don't you think?

[DetroitPole]

I wouldn't write Fouts off so quickly.

How come when the suburban leaders want to pull shit from the city they are simply helping their constituents, yet whenever the city bitches about the suburbs they are anti-regionalism, anti-suburb, prejudiced, and all awful things under the sun? A rhetorical question, obviously.

You can't really blame the little guy. The region is set up that each city is its own fiefdom. The more they can plunder from each other, the better off each little duchy is. It is terribly short-sighted, but it resonates with voters and in the short-term.

There are a couple of bright spots though: despite being one of the largest cities in Michigan, Warren, like the rest of the suburbs, is terribly inconsequential compared to Detroit. This, "I'm going to get mine" mentality is clearly not sustainable. We have to work as a region with Detroit as the core city.

[R8RBOB]

If you were a legal analyst I'd pay more attention to your perception of Mr. Fouts, however, I don't think that's the case. Mayor Fouts has his idiosyncrasies but he is a man of integrity and an honest politician. Today, that is almost impossible to find. If he hadn't made an effort to lure GM to Warren [[after GM threatened to leave Detroit), the people would have come down on him anyway....so it's damned if you do, damned if you don't. At least Mayor Fouts made efforts to continue the Buy American policy, that's much more than I've seen from others. You are right about Obama not knowing who Mayor Fouts is, Obama isn't in touch with the realities of the world and the working person from any aspect that I've seen. I am very disappointed in Obama....his major interest seems to be vacations or sending his wife and 40 of their friends to Spain while people here in Michigan are fighting to get unemployment checks, fighting to keep their homes, trying to figure out where their next meal is coming from. Obama has become one of the "elite" class, don't you think?

Sorry Mr. American but I have to ding you.....

Fouts being a politician understood the metaphor "blood in the water" and GM was bleeding out and he jumped on an opportunity not to help GM but preserve what businesses that remained in Warren. We have to remember that GM is ALREADY IN WARREN. It is not like he offered vast acres of land for GM to build their new headquarters. He was attempting to exploit a vulnerable General Motors. He caught on to talk that explored the idea of selling the Ren Cen which was only a suggestion and not fact since the real estate market like the auto industry was swirling in the same toilet. General Motors would have got nothing for the hq which is why Fritz wanted to give it to Detroit.

[Buy American]

Sorry Mr. American but I have to ding you.....

Fouts being a politician understood the metaphor "blood in the water" and GM was bleeding out and he jumped on an opportunity not to help GM but preserve what businesses that remained in Warren. We have to remember that GM is ALREADY IN WARREN. It is not like he offered vast acres of land for GM to build their new headquarters. He was attempting to exploit a vulnerable General Motors. He caught on to talk that explored the idea of selling the Ren Cen which was only a suggestion and not fact since the real estate market like the auto industry was swirling in the same toilet. General Motors would have got nothing for the hq which is why Fritz wanted to give it to Detroit.

I agree that Mayor Fouts was looking at opportunities to help Warren in any way possible, after all, that's his job. Warren, as well as other communities, are suffering the consequences of the auto industry and it's decline and maybe he was thinking of the alternatives if the RenCen was sold or GM was forced to move....the logical place for them to end up was Warren because of the Tech Center. Exploit is a harsh word and personally I don't think that was his intention.

[R8RBOB]

I agree that Mayor Fouts was looking at opportunities to help Warren in any way possible, after all, that's his job. Warren, as well as other communities, are suffering the consequences of the auto industry and it's decline and maybe he was thinking of the alternatives if the RenCen was sold or GM was forced to move....the logical place for them to end up was Warren because of the Tech Center. Exploit is a harsh word and personally I don't think that was his intention.

Exploitation was his intention. If General Motors wanted to move to the Tech Center, they don't need approval from the mayor of Warren to move. They own the property and they could do whatever they pleased. Fouts, looking to get his name out there with the likes of L. Brooks Patterson, Robert Ficano and Dave Bing went public with his wooing of GM and sent a letter to Henderson which he publicly announced he would do. He was exploiting the situation with GM to his and only his advantage.

[Crumbled_pavement]

Jim Fouts is angry? Well, I'm angry that he's angry.

[Stosh]

Jim Fouts is angry? Well, I'm angry that he's angry.

Call Virg Bernero. I think someone is violating his copyright.

[Buy American]

Exploitation was his intention. If General Motors wanted to move to the Tech Center, they don't need approval from the mayor of Warren to move. They own the property and they could do whatever they pleased. Fouts, looking to get his name out there with the likes of L. Brooks Patterson, Robert Ficano and Dave Bing went public with his wooing of GM and sent a letter to Henderson which he publicly announced he would do. He was exploiting the situation with GM to his and only his advantage.

Mayor Fouts wasn't offering his "approval" for them to move to the Tech Center, because you are correct, GM didn't need his approval.

To quote Mayor Fouts in 2009...

"This is not about race, it is not about Detroit versus Warren, or anything of that nature," he said. "It's about saving jobs, it's about protecting jobs for all, regardless of race, creed or color."

He offered new incentives for GM, bigger abatements. It was never about his "approval" so I don't agree with your statement.

[BagAJellyDonuts]

Jim Fouts is angry? Well, I'm angry that he's angry.

It's time to go open your window and yell "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."

[R8RBOB]

Mayor Fouts wasn't offering his "approval" for them to move to the Tech Center, because you are correct, GM didn't need his approval.

To quote Mayor Fouts in 2009...

"This is not about race, it is not about Detroit versus Warren, or anything of that nature," he said. "It's about saving jobs, it's about protecting jobs for all, regardless of race, creed or color."

He offered new incentives for GM, bigger abatements. It was never about his "approval" so I don't agree with your statement.

His public statements only prove that he was exploiting the GM situation. Mr. Fouts conducting his idea publicly so he was embarrass publicly. For starters, he should have never spoke publicly about getting General Motors. There is this little thing called "keeping it to yourself until it's time to let people know what's up." His biggest mistake was sending the letter [[the first one) to Fritz Henderson instead of Barack Obama or his auto czar Rattner. If moving GM was the best option then that should have worked out behind closed doors and Fouts would have been dealing with the ones who would have the final say. Instead, he went public and turned it into a issue of Black city/White suburb, poaching and abandonment.