Auto industry bailout

[fccool]

What drives me nuts is that the government has no problem bailing out the financial industry, that did not produce anything but debt and in fact were instrumental behind engineering this crisis. Yet, there is a big fuss in Washington over the auto industry bail out.

The auto industry is one of the few US industries that produced something. Yet, it is the failing financial giants, who pay billions in bonuses... these get the bailout money.

I don't think that bailing out Automakers will work in the long run, but why all the fuss over mere 25 billion? AIG alone got 125 billion. US car industry employs 3 million people by comparison.

[Dr. Shane]

I can't agree more.

[olger]

Let them both fail. That is the long term wise solution.

[Woody]

[Pockey]

i feel like bailing out the auto industry is like the part in schindler's list where they had workers in a fake factory making defective products. of course the movie is apples to oranges, and that was for a good cause, but we'd just be supporting a bunch of people making defective products for the sake of supporting the people. i'm all for supporting the people, but not to make defective products.

[jasd]

>>...that did not produce anything but debt and in fact were instrumental behind engineering this crisis.<<

Oh, I think this latest financial crises was a long time in the making – when first we sought to ‘social-engineer’; to wit, the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977...

>>The auto industry is one of the few US industries that produced something.<<

Yup, among other things – the UAW.

>>Yet, it is the failing financial giants, who pay billions in bonuses... these get the bailout money.<<

Babylon? after all, the banking industry in America is shaking-out as being mere entities of – what is it? three Central conglomerates...?

>>I don't think that bailing out Automakers will work in the long run, but why all the fuss over mere 25 billion?<<

The auto manufacturer’s assembly lines would prove indispensable should we be pressed to utilize them in time of need. Not saying this is the reason for the money logjam re Detroit but – the degradation of Detroit’s assembly lines would work well for those who wish to decimate America’s war-making capacity...

>>AIG alone got 125 billion. US car industry employs 3 million people by comparison.<<

The better to blow-out those pricey resorts and, as you’ve said, ‘pay those phantasmagoriastic bonuses’!

Seriously, when we are threatened with the collapse of Capitalization – one, rightfully, feels threatened – fearfully threatened.

>>...but we'd just be supporting a bunch of people making defective products for the sake of supporting the people. i'm all for supporting the people, but not to make defective products.<<

Umm, defective? I own a ‘beater’ ’69 Ford 250 with a 390 engine that has already chugged along for hundreds of thousands of miles. What’s that? ‘bout 40 years and the equivalent of a whole bunch of globe traverses? and I don’t even change oil until it’s like, all sludgy. That and my Suburban should, hopefully,

provide the extra insurance that – should I and one of those Rice Cookers on wheels from other places meet under the most deplorable conditions – it will be me who gets out of one of my American made ‘defective’ autos to enquire after the well-being of the guy all scrunched-up in one of those Rice Cooker on wheels from other places – attempting to save the cost of a bit of petrol... :-(

Anyway, seriously, alla those assembly line guys who were displaced in the Japanese Auto Manufacturing Industry when the Industry changed over to robots – transferred to ‘Quality Control’ – as Japanese Culture discouraged layoffs and tended to guarantees of lifetime employment to its employees. That’s a lot of guys doing nothing but checking quality on the cars coming off the assembly line at Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, et al... The same no longer applies and those old geezers have, for the most part, been put out to pasture...

As for those German machines... well, what can one say? Oy vay!

Now, if we could only bust the UAW... [/unlikely]

[Woody]

If the bail out is to happen ... it should only happen with complet restructuring by the Tax Payers ... not the fat cats. The people at the top should be required to lose their jobs. And all others in the company should lose half of their pay. The problem is that they all get paid way too much. That is at the root of the problem.

[Gail]

Excuse me, as I don't know how things go in the U.S. but, in a bailout, where does the money come from? Isn't the country already trillions in debt?

??

[Dr. Shane]

It is suppose to come from loans. So the government is suppose to sell bonds to raise the money. However it seems the Federal Reserve is just printing more money. Which runs a big risk of causing inflation. I am hearing conflicting reports on this from different sources.

[Pockey]

>>.Umm, defective? I own a ‘beater’ ’69 Ford 250 with a 390 engine that has already chugged along for hundreds of thousands of miles. What’s that? ‘bout 40 years and the equivalent of a whole bunch of globe traverses?

Awesome, a sample size of one. You're right.

[Neil D]

Explain to me again, why not give the american tax payer a break or tax credit for every American made/assembled car that gets 30 miles to the gallon of gas? and give double the tax break for cars that get 45 miles to the gallon of gas? Say a credit of $500.00?

The auto industry wants to make more cars to sell and this seems like a likely way of promoting the auto industry and encouraging the auto industry to make those cars that get good gas mileage.....

[Dr. Shane]

We don't want to do anything like a tax credit for buying an American car because that would cause a trade war. A lot of American cars are sold in other countries so we would not benefit from a trade war.

[olger]

Let them fail. Let them reorganize.

American taxpayers should not be obliged to bail out UAW contracts (which is what the bailout is suggesting).

oG

[Neil D]

We don't want to do anything like a tax credit for buying an American car because that would cause a trade war. A lot of American cars are sold in other countries so we would not benefit from a trade war.

Ok, let's see....an American car that is getting over 30 miles to the gallon....

GMC

Ford

Chevy

Toyota

Chysler

Believe it or not, these cars are assembled in America....Whose not going to profit?

[CyberGuy]

Excuse me, as I don't know how things go in the U.S. but, in a bailout, where does the money come from? Isn't the country already trillions in debt?

??

Many people are selling their 401K porfolios and buying Tbills. On the internet one can go to the Church retirement and change what their porfolio invests in. Right now only the Vanguard investment in Treasury bills are the only one making money at 9 percent over the last year. That will go down to 7 percent now but still that is making money which is the ONLY investment that is making money. My point is this is one source that is supporting the Governments loan. People buying up T Bills instead of stocks and bonds.

[carolaa]

What drives me nuts is that the government has no problem bailing out the financial industry, that did not produce anything but debt and in fact were instrumental behind engineering this crisis. Yet, there is a big fuss in Washington over the auto industry bail out.

The auto industry is one of the few US industries that produced something. Yet, it is the failing financial giants, who pay billions in bonuses... these get the bailout money.

I don't think that bailing out Automakers will work in the long run, but why all the fuss over mere 25 billion? AIG alone got 125 billion. US car industry employs 3 million people by comparison.

I think Congress is wising up and seeing that throwing money at problems isn't solving the problems. They also wonder where it will end. They can't bail out everyone. So they are wising up like they should have done in the beginning and are demanding to see better plans before they just hand out money. Personally, I think they should send Warren Buffet in to reorganize all those companies asking for help.