We’re going to say something so honest and so outrageous that it’s necessary to start this post with a legal disclaimer: The opinions stated here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The 60 Second Marketer’s parent, BKV, Inc. or its sister agency, 60 Second Communications.

Okay, that said, here’s something that most people are either too afraid to say or not honest enough with themselves to admit:

Ford, GM and Chrysler should shut down their U.S. manufacturing plants and start manufacturing their automobiles overseas.

Sure, it’s an outrageous thing to say. And yes, it’s somewhat inflammatory. But it’s the honest-to-gosh truth.

Just take a look at the other manufacturing operations located in the United States. Oops! Where did they all go? Computers? Manufactured with cheap labor in China. Furniture? Ditto. Electronics? You guessed it — China.

That’s not to say the United States doesn’t have a lot to offer. In fact, we’re poised for some wonderful things to happen in the 21st century. But none of those things involve manufacturing. They almost all involve services and information technology.

America is a great country. And one of the things that makes us great is that we’re a huge melting pot of the smartest, hardest-working, most innovative minds the earth has ever seen.

America is about skilled labor, not unskilled labor (apologies to all the hard-working line workers in car factories across the country). The sooner we accept the fact that we’re better at new ideas, new technologies and new services, the sooner we can get back on track.

Oh sure, it’ll be painful. Look at what happened to Cleveland and Pittsburgh in the 1970s when the steel industry went overseas. But look at where those cities are today — vibrant, lively sources of new ideas, new technologies and new services.

So what’s a country to do? As hard as this is going to be, we should put a 10-year transitional plan into place that migrates workers from the unskilled manufacturing jobs to skilled jobs in information, services and technology.

It’ll be a massive undertaking, along the scale of the arms manufacturing of World War II or the Interstate Highway system of the 1950s. But it’s necessary, because the horrible truth about Ford, GM and Chrysler is that they’re business-model is dead. It’s time for them to start manufacturing their automobiles overseas so we can free up our workers to spend their energies developing new innovations that will help us continute to be the world’s largest econoy well into the 21st century.

Let’s start by saying that we’re not comparing labor unions to terrorists. And we’re not making light of the fact that people have died defending our nation from terrorism. But when it comes to the threats American businesses will face over the next few years, you could argue that Osama Bin Laden is less of a threat than big labor.

As a marketing professional, you’re always looking for ways to drive new prospects to your business. But if you drive prospects into a failed business model, no matter how hard you work, it’ll be a waste of your time.

Take a look at the Big Three Automakers. The CEOs from these companies each flew on their respective corporate jets (cost = about $1,000 per hour, even when it’s sitting on the runway) to go to Washington to ask for a bail out. Not only has that created a PR disaster for their companies, it’s also a sign that the CEOs are simply out-of-touch with the challenges most Americans now face.

But that’s only part of the story. The real issue is that American car manufacturers can’t compete with foreign car manufacturers. Why? Because for decades labor unions have forced the U.S. auto industry into contracts that inflate their costs. Do you know that every car built by the Ford, GM or Chrysler is about $300 more expensive than foreign cars because of their labor contracts?

That means if Toyota builds a car for $19,900  and one of the Big 3 builds the exact same car, they have to sell it for $20,200 because of the built-in labor costs. That’s a flawed business model. Who has an extra $300 to blow in today’s economy? It’s difficult for any amount of brand loyalty to overcome that price differential.

And now, as if that weren’t bad enough, the Government might pass a law that will take away American’s right to vote for or against labor unions with a secret ballot. Huh? Isn’t a right to privacy part of what it means to be an American? Not if you’re a supporter of labor unions. If they have their way, when you’re asked to vote for or against labor unions, they’ll be able to look over your shoulder and see how you voted.

What? This is outrageous. And it’s completely un-American. Worse still, it’ll give big labor so much power that it’ll further cripple our ability to compete with foreign products and/or services.

If you’re a marketer, it’s your job to drive prospects to your business. But if that business has its hands tied by inflated labor contracts, then no matter how many prospects you drive to your business, your efforts won’t succeed. For proof of this, just ask GM, Ford and Chrysler.

You may not agree with everything we’ve said here, but we’re sure you’ll agree this — no matter what your point-of-view, you should contact your Senator or Congressman today to let them know where you stand on the Card Check Program that big labor is supporting.