Do you agree or disagree with the auto industry bailout?
$25b for the big 3 automakers to survive or not? I can't believe they've run their companies to need that kind of money. They kept making oversized gas sucking trucks and suv's and now want money to change to smaller fuel efficient autos even though they've managed to stay in business this long w/o that. This is ridiculous. Please if someone can defend a bail out - convince me. But them threatening to cut thousands of jobs if there's no bailout is no defense - that's just blackmail on their part.
2008-11-19T10:23:59Z
Amy makes a very good argument and very persuasive. But I can't buy in to the too big to fail argument anymore. They have to restructure and they don't need 25 billion to do it. They will come back in some form or another, but rewarding lack of innovation or foresight is going to destroy this country, not letting incompetence fail. They should have prepared for this exact situation and had plenty of time and money to do it, but they didn't. I feel for the short term pain it may cause, but it's better than corporate welfare. The financial industry needed help but those too large to fail banks need to be broken down too - using antitrust laws or something. And I think the underlying problem there was speculation and overvaluation on property and real estate - not low interest loans.
Turtle Poser2008-11-18T19:49:30Z
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I definitely do not agree with the bailout. Let's face it, these companies have been getting a free ride bilking the "buy American" sentiment. I'm all for "buying American" as long as it's high quality. I bought a Dodge Neon when it first came out in 1994--great car. It got totalled, so I bought a new one because I liked it so much, and the new Dodge Neon sucked. So did my Ford Escort. Now, I have a Toyota Corolla with 120,000 miles & it still runs like a dream. I think it was made in Tennesse, by the way.
I feel badly for the autoworkers depending on these jobs, however, what about the rest of us? This January both my husband and I might be facing a home foreclosure because we were told we might be laid off. Where's our bailout? My husband and I lived in 4 states so we could get decent work. Why don't people in Michigan look elsewhere work? Jobs don't come looking for you, you have to look for them. Why do we have to prop up Michigan? What's so special about the people who live there? I'm sick and tired of blue collar workers griping about how factories are closing etc. Move for heavens sake. As a couple, we don't make near as much $ as those union workers do. Do we demand that our businesses not close? No, we cry, wipe our tears and look for work. It's a shame, life sucks, but move on.
I know that not propping up the auto industry will be painful for all of us. With the bailout, all we're doing is prolonging the inevitable. Let's just be done with it already.
Ok think about it this way. If there is a slow economy people don't buy new cars until their car dies, correct? So people a year ago that thought I'll wait a year or two to buy a new car, may have put off buying a car for 4 or 5 now. Especially since there is a ton of chatter about improving fuel efficiency and all the other green factors. While the big three auto makers have had their production set for what they were going to make for the last two years. Shoot they already know what they are planning for 2011 right now. So what we are looking at is slow production and a sudden lack of interest in a certain vehicle that two years ago was their strongest producer of income. Is that poor planning? Yes! Should 3 million people lose their jobs because of some poor decisions by upper management? Really? It's not a threat to fire or layoff people if you don't have the money to pay their wages and have to shut down. The proof is in not paying their dealerships for incentives they have set up for months.
How about this do you like the idea of only having certain international car companies to chose from for your next vehicle? Do you really think that regulations are strictly enforced on import vehicles? Do you really? Look at China and all the issues they have been having in the last two years. International regulations are not going to be as stringent as our own local regulations. And then think of all the money we as a country will be losing because all of a sudden we are focused on an international only production instead of a diverse selection.
Of course if you really want a recession/depression, shut down every Ford, GM, Jeep, Chevrolet and Chrysler dealership in America not to mention the finance companies for them and the production plants. Watch the country fall to it's knees. The effect that would have on commercial real estate, service divisions around the companies, not to mention mechanics, and the small cities that survive on the taxes that the vehicles provide from sales, and employees. Do I need to mention more? I could mention the unending employment issue. Don't lose your job, or you might be out of luck for a while...
If you are so gung ho against the auto bailout were you screaming so loud at the bank bailout? Truthfully, I would have backed the opposite. Ditch the 700 billion for investors in banks and back our citizens that need jobs.
On principle I can't support the bailout, the Detroit car companies have been making bad decisions, living too well, one example is GM who has laid off workers when it still made a profit. Their inability to modernize their plants, manufacturing processes as well as business process, and being stuck on superstar CEO complexes when the results are not backing this%