James M

What Sector? Housing?, Energy? Autos?

I dont see expansion in ANY AREA and I dont see any PRIVATE COMPANY planning an expansion to hire anyone.

Which area?

Isnt Obama giving us the same crap as Bush did only a double dose of the nonsense?

Isnt this the usual " promise the moon" nonsense coming from Obama that always comes out of Politicans mouths? Promise everything to get elected and then become like the rest of the policitcans. ( a Second Bush in the making is what I see)

Proposal after proposal out of Washington, Starting with Bush's $600 check to trillion dollar bailouts to a free cash donation to GM and Chrysler, now the spending has gone on for almost a year, Nothing seems to work.

Why should we have any faith in the new Obama stuff coming down the road when Zero has worked so far and given the fact that Government Spending has NEVER BROUGHT US OUT OF A RECESSION OR A DEPRESSION. Why will it work?? These Washington proposals, all really are alike only different names.

Given that older Americans on Medicare are going to be Squeezed to support the Proposed Health Insurance Plan of Obamas, most have closed their walets and are hoarding their cash in fear. This has further "shut down" the spending on new Cars, Hotels, and the retirement activities of Seniors.

How much are the older folks on Medicare going to be losing to support this new Trillion Dollar proposal of Obamas to Health Insure everyone ?

Has any of the local stations in Detroit reporting this?

Will the UAW retiree health benefits vanish then? How about the pension which isnt funded fully?

I have a friend who works for Chrysler in the Skilled Trades and he tells me they have No plans to restart their factory.

Who else out their knows of this?

GM's Board will Meet this week to consider the Feds offer and will vote such that all parties, Union, Bond Holders, Banks, and Large Shareholder Groups must be in full agreement with a signed off legal paperwork before GM's Board will accept the Fed Bailout is a new report that is out on the CNN .

What is the meaning of this and what will be the impact if the parties mentioned above cannot come to a full agreement. Does this mean that the GM Board will authorize Legal Bankrupcy for GM ?

They buy their parts in NON UNION shops and they dont have the "direct labor" to support other functions of a business. That is primarly due to those lucrative GM-Labor contracts that have forced GM out of Ternstedt, Delco and many other divisions most have which gone in years past due to those labor contracts.

Any factory accountant knows that you cannot rid a manufacturing business of all your direct labor (those people producing parts or cars) and in the long run have a sucessful manufacturing business.

This is the way it is and noting will change it or is there some vodo accounting im missing here???

Lets assume they all 3 go bankrupt and then have lower labor costs and essentially no pension costs.

Wont such a thing really revive Michigan, Ohio and those states as they have the vacant facilities and skilled to produce cars and trucks then on a COMPETITIVE basis whereas now no one wants to invest in Michigan and Ohio as those labor costs there are thru the roof.

GM has 460,000 UAW workers and 200,000 Salaried on Pensions and full health benefits (salaried are going Medicare in Jan.) Now, they have 180,000 UAW world wide producing product soon to go down to 92,000 by GM's own projection while the ranks of retirees will swell to nearly 1 Million. The increase in foriegn competion will rise tremendously as the world auto production out of US will cut prices to bone.

How in the world is GM going to survive this calamity as fewer and fewer UAW workers who produce saleable product decrease even further in ranks, given they have shrunk already by more than 50% over the last 10 years.

GM is going bankrup to reorganize and nothing more in the long run. NO amount of government "loan" can help them. Who that has an accounting experience agrees that its impossible to stay the Current GM with such great retiree, and even given GM rids of the health costs to UAW?????

Seems the prudent thing one would do. Is curtail costs like about a year or so ago instead of crying " demise " at such a late date.

I for one dont understand it as I am involved in business and we know our Cash and Debt position practically by the minute.

Seems, either ignorance or arrogance, using threats of "depression" triggering if one of them goes. Who else is a bit tired of hearing about their importance to America and who else says Shame on them for creating that anti American lifestyle "job bank" where you do nothing and draw nearly full pay.

Welcome to the world economy, now get with it. All these jobs will be gone if the UAW doesn't make even more concessions. No more lifetime benefits, overpaid assemblers, paid loafers and crappy cars. Get competitive or go the way of the buggy whip.

Studies have been done by outsiders, The UAW and the big 3 need to cut wages also by $12 per hour. and close roughly 50% of their production facilities due to over capacity.

How could intellegent people in Detroit (Big3 + UAW) not see this coming and cut things at least a year ago to survive. Will ignorance be the mother of their demise?

A lot of angry people out there think the Big three ought not be bailed out and should go bankrupt and "purge" the inefficiencies from their slates.

If Congress bails them out, will not the public react by not purchasing those Gm, Ford and Chry vechiles simply out of distaste for the bailout?

Not only are those Foriegn auto plants in US much much lower cost in car making, but world wide, there are so many places that are producing top quality cars at much lower costs that Detroit.

Doesnt that make it impossible for Detroits big 3 to survive such an onslaught of cheaper labor worldwide? And China, the new comer is just getting started in Car production.

Why has "bankrupcy" crisis before years end erupted so suddenly right after the election, when just a week or two ago nothing much was said about "running out of cash before years end" . Now its a crisis. Why such a big change now and so suddenly?

If a company has a "bankrupt" crisis, there is no "business plan" Its laid out by the courts for that particular Bankrupcy as needed depending on what sort of protection or distribution is deemed by the courts. And that exactly is what GM, Ford, And Chrysler are headed toward

So, the CEO's are going back to their surroundings in Detroit and preping some sort of nonsense to satisfy Congress? What is anyones' guess. .

Why is Reid picking on the CEO's when the Union leaders are sitting back in Comfort and just as much at fault as the CEO's for the crisis. Pelosi after all, greeted both the CEO's and UAW with open arms.

Isnt that going to be a burden on the older retirees who dont have savings and used to that extra $1800 per month plus all health benefit, in particular that bunch?

Would it be better for the Whole Company, thru the CEO's and UAW leadership to vote a void on the current contract and go that route to at least spare a lot of pain to individuals and families?

Well, if I were Ford shareholders Id fire this guy and fast. He will not go to $1 as the Chrysler CEO will do.

Ford Shareholders, you think the US will bail you out when you pay somebody that kind of money to run a flop on your business?

I have the radio on, those big gas guzzlers that the Big three so vigorously compaigned congress so they could make, (and wipe out the MPG rating requirements) have in a large part caused the $4.50 gas prices in the US.

Wouldnt it have been better in hinsight to just buckle down and build more fuel efficent vechles for the last 10 years and not campaign congress to relax the laws. Wouldnt the Big 3 be in sailing along just fine now had they not done that ?

That is start for new hirees. Well, none have ever been hired that I know of so its as "paper" concession. That 15 goes to 23 in a short time, so the 15 is sort of meaningless.

I went to the Shareholder meeting in Detroit and the Chief Financial said the Contract Concessins have yielded GM a big Zero on their operating costs due to inefficiencies that are "brought about by their contract to guarantee Pay " to all workers regardless of what kind of circumstances the company might encounter.

So he basically said the concessins were of no consequence to operating costs for GM and that GM had operational costs some 25% higher that foriegn competition. A fact that was later disputed by several people attending the meeting. .

I sell to GM and Ford. I myself and all suppliers are will to buckle down and bear it. So its important to me and my community as a whole.

Dont you think the UAW needs to come forth with a 40% pay cut and drop the "lose shop rules" to save GM. Something got to be done and I see the UAW as the one who can take the lead and make it happen. The politicians in Washington dont have the slightest idea how to help us neither does the GM's CEO.

For the sake of the Auto industry and the US as a whole.