Richard Wendling

Pre-packaged Bankruptcy Is GM's Only Option - Barron's

The $70 dollars an hour is an accurate number. No the employee's making the vehicles don't make that much but when you factor in health care costs, retirement, insurances, vacations, bonuses and the like this is where the $70 number comes in. Its not a real number as far as payout is concerned, but it is a real number when factoring in the cost of labor to the price of a vehicle. I worked in the auto industry for 33 years and that's how I know.

Richard

GM Bailout Would Be Agony for Taxpayers

While I agree that they are a dinosaur, the majority of the money difference, (i.e.) $40 an hour is what is currently referred to as legacy costs, (i.e.) retiree health care and pension benefits. While current investors and paid pundits say to hell with those 700,000 individuals on retirement and their high benefits packages remember, those individuals worked for 40 years earning those benefits, and they were not getting the massive wages that the workers now day's are. once those costs are passed on to the union in 2010 the per hour rate will drop sharply.

If you want to make cuts, one cut managements salaries and stock options and two, cut workers pay down to the $17.00 an hour rate that the so called foreign companies are paying their workers now.

Richard