GM bail out

[soxfan22]

It gets uglier and uglier...This is always the problem with government intervention into the private sector.

BTW - I thought the initial $800 billion bailout was urgent like nothing had ever been urgent before?

Well since the election, the DOW is down 12%. Company after company has now lined up with their hands out (predictable), and Barney Frank is now saying we MUST bail out the auto companies (also predictable).

Where will it end?

[CariBert]

Maybe I'm not alone in this, but I just bought a new Chevrolet (4 cylinder, trying to help the econpmy and the environment) and God help me if GM folds and I need work done on my car. And for the followers of "let them fold, and some big bucks company will come along and buy them up" way of thinking, just WHO are these deep pockets companies? I don't know of that many that are left, inside the US, of course.

Tough question, tough decision....what is the correct answer?

-Bert

[Lulu76]

There is no one to buy General Motors or they would've done it by now. It's a bargain right now.

[promoguy]

I hate to say this but there may be someone out there to buy the struggling auto makers. Unfortunately, it may not be financially feasible until the companies declare a Chap 11. That will get rid of the current union contracts and allow for renegotiation. Why do you think the union leaders are so intent on getting the bailout. Current buyers aren't interested in buying into the current union debt.

[DELETED]

DELETED

[designbyroe]

Obviously, I have a vested interest in seeing General Motors succeed. My parents are only in their 50s, and the only income they have is a GM pension. I'm scared to death what will happen to them if GM goes bankrupt. My brothers and I can't afford to support them, and neither of them is well enough to work (my dad is blind, and my mom has COPD). And before you go nutso about my parents not having IRAs and 401(k)s, you have to remember when my dad started working, guys like him got a job, become "company men" and then were rewarded with a pension. He was told he would always be taken care of. And not like they ever had a lot of extra money with four kids anyhow. Perhaps this was not the wisest move on General Motors' part, but that's how business was done then.

But, truly, honestly, I don't think anyone who lives outside of Detroit and hasn't been intimately involved in the auto industry realizes how big of an economic crisis this country will have if the auto industry collapses. In addition to hundreds of thousands of people working for GM, Chrysler and Ford directly, there are MILLIONS of people's jobs tied to the auto industry -- parts suppliers, dealers/car salesman, truckers, etc. Even my first job out of college was as a contract PR person for the Big Three. Detroit will crumble, and the whole country will be crippled. Not to mention that I will have to hitchhike, because I'm not ever driving a foreign car. (I truly believe that if one collapses, all three companies will collapse. It will be the beginning of the end.)

I'm not going to say that the U.S. automakers have managed themselves as well as they should've, but if the country can save AIG for no apparent reason, then they have to bail out the U.S. Automakers. If for no other reason than because there have been a lot of legislative policies over the last few years that have led to their demise -- NAFTA, the erosion of workers' rights, etc.

Maybe I have a different perspective than most people, but it's one I think everyone needs to see. And for those of you who drive foreign cars and think this won't affect you, you have to remember that most of the foreign cars sold in the U.S. are made through joint ventures with the U.S. automakers. And when the parts suppliers go under (and they all will without business from Ford, Chrysler and GM), there won't be anyone to sell parts to Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc. (And most of those companies have significant operations in Detroit, as well.)

Good points Lulu.......I also think the bottom line is we bailed out AIG and they still had the nerve to go on these ridiculous and extragant trips for their high rollers shall we call them. Their excuse was they were preplanned.........BULL_ _ _ _!!!
Change the plan then......

[promoguy]

I'm all for the bailout of GM and the auto Mfg's if you can guarantee that this will solve their problem. If we're only doing this to be good to the worker, well, it just won't good.

Since the big 800 plus bailout I still don't see the banks loosing up on credit.

My business is down and my personal assets are way down. Anyone know who I can turn to.

Yep, the grim reality is that autoworkers are going to suffer on this one.

[soxfan22]

I hate to say this but there may be someone out there to buy the struggling auto makers. Unfortunately, it may not be financially feasible until the companies declare a Chap 11. That will get rid of the current union contracts and allow for renegotiation. Why do you think the union leaders are so intent on getting the bailout. Current buyers aren't interested in buying into the current union debt.

Very well said. They want the money, yet they said today that they will make no concessions! If you wrote that story, Borders would be selling it right next to Harry Potter.

I work in pharma, and for many different reasons our industry is not as profitable as it once was (federal regs and Med D two biggies...along with the FDA and their often ridiculous regulations and restrictions on many drugs that have been used safely and efficaciously for years)...Pfizer's stock is in the tank...GSK just laid off 1,000 sales representatives last month...My biotech company, in the 2 1/2 years I have been here has gone from nearly 400 sales representatives nationally down to 125.

My question is, with all of the "good will" that is heaped on our industry mostly by the left (see sarcasm) - do you think Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama would be saying it is imperitive to bail us out?

I think not. Why? Because we have no unions.

[Terry]

I grew up in Detroit. My father-in-law was an engineer for GM. My mother-in-law, now a widow, reinvested GM stock elsewhere and now lives in a nice home in CA. Smart move.

One of my college buddies made $22.50 per hour sweeping floors at GM in the 1970's.

We left Michigan for a reason, to seek a different working environment in 1973.

We are self employed and only after a lay-off 30 years ago.

What is the purpose of unions these days? Do they really still serve their purpose?

Unions will die in my lifetime, I hope.

[Lulu76]

Ask the families of those miners in West Virginia who died because they didn't have basic, working safety equipment if they think that unions have outlived their usefulness.

Actually, everyday when you go to work and your workplace is safe, you should thank the labor unions who worked their hind-ends off to pass OSHA rules. When your wife has a baby and you get to take time off without worrying about losing your job, don't forget that the UAW was instrumental in getting the Family and Medical Leave Act passed.

And, tonight, when I get in my union-made vehicle, I can rest easily knowing that it was made in a safe factory where everyone was treated fairly, but I know that kind of stuff doesn't bother everyone. Unfortunately.

[promoguy]

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinside ... 351179.htm

Ask the families of those miners in West Virginia who died because they didn't have basic, working safety equipment if they think that unions have outlived their usefulness.

Actually, everyday when you go to work and your workplace is safe, you should thank the labor unions who worked their hind-ends off to pass OSHA rules. When your wife has a baby and you get to take time off without worrying about losing your job, don't forget that the UAW was instrumental in getting the Family and Medical Leave Act passed.

And, tonight, when I get in my union-made vehicle, I can rest easily knowing that it was made in a safe factory where everyone was treated fairly, but I know that kind of stuff doesn't bother everyone. Unfortunately.

[Lulu76]

I actually read that article today. I was surprised by it, because I can safely say that I have known autoworkers for all of my 32 years on earth, and my family was involved with the auto industry long before that, and not one person has ever told me that they went to a job center and watched DVDs and did crossword puzzles.

[DELETED]

DELETED

[promoguy]

My feeling and hope is that it doesn't happen. The Dow was up today and I've noticed that every time there's an indication that a bailout sum isn't going to be given the market goes up. It goes down every time wants to give some money out.

[DELETED]

DELETED