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Former CarMax CEO Austin Ligon on the state of the auto industry and the outlook for the job market.
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It's all right guys you -- -- at rents in just gonna put him off I didn't want to admit to belief here that he's not an Obama fan.
-- -- my next guest is he is former CarMax he you know Austin literally in the great -- parlance of the political vernacular as surrogate -- -- They call you right UN in your case in Obama.
Surrogate good to have -- thanks I don't know that's what they say yeah that's what they say -- SI deserted him but.
On the what do you think of this economy its latest jobs report the president saying it's a great.
Promising sign that things are getting better Mitt Romney in Ohio just tonight saying no it isn't.
-- is the best we could do.
Lou Lou we've you know we've got another think coming -- it would be so.
-- -- -- first thing is I think it's it's a sign of steady progress we're going in the right direction it's not as fast as any of us would like.
But the most important thing is it's steady progress and I think it's also really important to look at their global context this is not a local recession.
Or or Great Recession that we just had the US and in fact we're performing better than any other large industrialized country in the world there's.
Not -- always showed -- barrels a restaurant I'm he wanted to big gun well could be.
It would and we -- really big gun but you know we have to export we have to have customers to it and Europe is fading back into a recession.
And many of the policies that are taking them there are some of the same policies that Paul Ryan in particular seems to want to put it got us I think -- if you go to our in the right direction and -- You could seriously argue -- the reason why they're in the economic pickle there it is because.
They'd built this cradle to grave nanny state that some of -- -- to disentangle because there's no more money forward -- in fact what they're doing in France to try to.
We make things right is -- well let's fight to top tax rate to 75% and now you've got an exodus of find business minds like DO so I guess what -- -- -- where is the middle ground on this what do you do to get this under control.
Look not I think obviously we have to get through this election there's a lot of heated rhetoric out there right now but -- I think as as the Fed is said and as most independent economists say.
We've got some momentum behind the economy you know my favorite industry the auto industry.
It's actually the reason that I am such a big fan of -- Obama's 'cause I think the restructuring he put in place was exactly the right thing.
Our auto industry is the envy of the world right now the Europeans did not restructure their industry.
We're growing -- -- great guns up 65 almost 70% since the bottom but -- I I don't and then.
It whether you agree I'm not here bicker over whether the the surf report has a lot of LIF send -- -- -- -- was originally sold on the notion of out of risk finally went through.
The plants would -- shuttered a lot of folks will be laid off.
Dead -- -- it would be.
So really a painful bankruptcy albeit one backed up by the taxpayers that a lot of folks would have gone along with that they did ultimately.
But did he tells the troublesome painful -- -- came later.
Well look but one of the things you know Neil you were you remember what it was like in January 2009.
Nobody -- the idea what was happening all of us in the auto industry were looking at GM and Chrysler.
And what we saw war.
Two companies that were on the verge of failure there we gonna take down the entire supplier -- -- industry with and we also saw an industry that had to be restructured.
And you know bill Ford is my hero in this scenario because -- done it himself.
He fired himself he hired a lolly they they put forward in a good place so they didn't have to be rescued.
But they sort of laid out a map for what had to be done and what had to be done lets everybody have the sacrifice.
Community yeah you have does anybody -- because things are back and all that you don't -- pit and violates our it would President Bush so I'm not criticizing does.
This president but the -- it didn't lead to a slippery slope where you could well not necessarily -- district.
-- again.
The difference between this was this was this was not a bail out a -- is when you give money to the existing -- -- restructuring.
The key thing that Obama did not -- management and outlining -- of the bankruptcy restructuring.
I'll be -- one -- by -- restructuring was.
Restructuring was driven by the president's team are a bankruptcy court would never have done that by itself and it's it's the reason I don't like -- Mitt Romney passive approach just turned over the courts.
It wouldn't have lived fast and -- they would have taken the action the president steamed ahead.
-- all of us in the auto industry knew that knew that both the Chrysler and that GM teams and the boards have to go.
But -- -- -- that riser ended up going into Italian -- right I mean in the end.
And see how -- -- -- -- wells in China are that's all well and good I'm just saying that that was not the way it was originally -- right.
Look a look I I I think that GM opening plants in China is great because it's more sales for GM -- supports and and the -- -- was the first car sold in China.
The fact that -- Chrysler's gotta produce more jeeps there is also good.
And who cares.
Who it is that came in to help rescue Clark Chrysler there was nobody else who want to take over Chrysler and I think Marchionne he's done a phenomenal job.
Any of -- Canadian anyway you know.
Now there is that terrorism and I do like -- -- -- took the all of that he's he's he's done a great job with the company and and I think it does the US has benefited from our it we could disagree on some five points but never disagree well okay thank you loss in British.
But you -- agree that it is one of the real successes.
Of this administration.
Is they have turned this industry around power -- I don't know about the -- Obama -- -- I don't know I don't know to justifies the cost.
Or -- this days.
Lore for example -- well -- builders retreated in the way we -- did contract law.
Set everybody deserted -- that.
Well there are gonna do not want this and not -- -- have to do that okay where we can remake history -- love you dearly but if we didn't mean we we did it redo a couple of things here.
But it very good having you lost and I appreciate it.
It's good to see again thanks very much.
