JohnL

Why the U.S. Automakers Should Get a Bailout

If there was much chance of "repayment with interest" then there would be willing investors to lend that money. Unfortunately, everyone that was approached took a pass. So now Detroit turns their sights on forcing a "loan" out of the unwilling. Their "muscle" in D.C. stands ready to shake down the victims (taxpayers) for a $25B sub-prime loan. And wasn't it the making of bad loans that got us into this mess in the first place? When will people learn that we're not running a charity here? It's called an economy and it only works (i.e. innovates, generates profits, employs people) when resources are transferred from those that mess up to those that satisfy customer wants. It also helps if individual industries and the muscle in Washington keep their hands out of our wallets.


On Nov 17 12:54 AM DavidR wrote:

> Wow, the people I share oxygen with really dissapoint me. OK, lets
> allow the US auto industry to dissappear. LOL. Most of the 3.1 Million
> newly unemployed will have to let their houses go into forclosure.
> They won't have an income to buy new Honda's and Toyotas, so those
> two companys might as well go down the tubes as well. We're talking
> about a LOAN to the Automakers to bridge a recession. We're talking
> about repayment with interest. Trust me, the last thing you want
> is the government taking an ownership stake in the companies (can
> you remember British Leyland?) Just a loan. Shesh. Not like most
> of you people never took out a loan?

GM Bailout Would Be Agony for Taxpayers

Lazaris,

I totally agree that the UAW leadership had accomplices. Senior management was truly incompetent and the board and investors were asleep at the wheel to pay the execs for such poor performance. The three groups must share responsibility for this sorry state of affairs and all three should share in the consequences. The current shareholders should get zero. The senior executives should be fired. And the auto industry that emerges will not pay so much for executives or workers. The old model clearly was not viable.

But I am part of a fourth group: the nearly 300 million americans that never benefitted from, or had any say in, the industry's stupidity, yet are being told we will help the other three groups out of their jam. Believe me: I truly empathize with the financial pain about to be endured by many auto workers and retirees, but this country cannot be allowed to descend into a socialist hell where the competent have to constanty bail-out the incompetent. If we do that, you can kiss more than the Big 3 good-bye; you can do that to this entire country.


On Nov 16 04:33 PM Lazaris wrote:

>
> Hey John,
> Do you think that after the UAW takes over the retiree health care,
> the wages go down to $14.00, and some benefits are taken away, that
> the price of that vehicle will go down one dime? Do you really think
> that a penny of all that cost savings is going to be passed on to
> the consumer? Dream on, all that cost savings will just go to more
> CEO pay and bonuses to management and to shareholders.
> But you will sure be happy to see those autoworkers take that huge
> pay cut won't you?
>
> On Nov 16 02:18 PM JohnL wrote:

GM Bailout Would Be Agony for Taxpayers

Hey lazaris,

Let me get this straight: the UAW pushes up wages for their members, fights against right-to-work laws, wants a weaker dollar, tarriffs and other trade barriers to hinder the import of foreign cars. All resulting in higher costs for the cars that the rest of us Americans buy. And this has been going on for decades. Now, when the whole scam stops working, you want the rest of us to bail you out? And you have the nerve to claim that your union wages have somehow helped us all? Does believing that twisted logic help you sleep at night?

Thanks, but I can't afford any more of your help.

Why the U.S. Automakers Should Get a Bailout

The author states that, deserving or not, we must do what’s best for most of America. What's best for most Americans is to not have those billions ripped ruthlessly from their pockets. If you believe in free markets, you have to believe that those billions should be in the hands of competent businessmen making investments to build products that people will buy. The market seems to be saying that we don't need 20m new cars per year. Are we listening? Rather, somewhere there's the next Bill Gates, who won't get the capital he needs because it's being used to prop up the incompetents in Detroit. Allowing him to succeed is what used to be best for America.