auto industry bailout

[darkhorse23]

How do my fellow Americans feel about the federal government giving $25 billion to GM, Ford and Chrysler?

Me first....I am AGAINST this misuse of taxpayer dollars. In free enterprise, companies make profits and go bankrupt all of the time, based on the companies' prices, products, market conditions and their ability to adapt and operate the company properly.

Interesting that these corporate executives fly around in COMPANY OWNED jets, while making millions of dollars to operate companies that LOSE millions of dollars.

I work for a Fortune 500 company. We have no private jets. Our execs fly business class just like you and I do.

[twovirgins]

Me too Im against it! and I konw that other bailout is another mistake and scam too.
Its sad to see these old companies crash but, it isnt my fault and I too am sick of Ceos making millions even as they run their companies to the ground.
they knew what they were doing .they were warned years ago that they better start making better smaller cars

[MaccaGirl2891]

The $7 billon was only meant for Wall Street, and now everyone and their dog wants it. The auto industry is proof of this.

Oh, and just because I like Bush does NOT mean that I support his decision to bail out Wall Street -- I am against that. I just don't like this decision that he has made.
Oh, I wonder what it's gonna be like when I try and get a job with this bailout and the new prez...

[Jerry]

Whether you support another bailout or not, the image of a company like Ford going out of business would do way more harm than people want to admit. Forget the lost jobs at Ford and all of the other businesses in the industry that supply them. The harm to the national psyche is what I'm talking about. It's like the sun not rising or something.

[darkhorse23]

Whether you support another bailout or not, the image of a company like Ford going out of business would do way more harm than people want to admit. Forget the lost jobs at Ford and all of the other businesses in the industry that supply them. The harm to the national psyche is what I'm talking about. It's like the sun not rising or something.

First, they won't go out of business, they will file for bankruptcy just like the airlines did. United Airlines, Delta etc. are all still flying.

Second, I don't think most of the nation cares if a Ford or Chrysler did go out of business. I don't think the national psyche suffers.

[hibgal]

Excuse me for butting in but, wasn't the US auto industry in trouble even before the current credit crunch? If Ford and Chrysler continue to build, and try to force on the market, gas guzzlers in a time when people struggle to fill the tank of an imported Honda, well, should the tax payer pay for bad corporate strategy too?

[GirlWithKaleidoscopeEyes]

I don't know enough about economics to know if the auto industry bailout is a financially sound idea, but being from Michigan, although I don't have any family involved in the auto industry, I can't but help but think about all the workers at the factories, etc. and their families...I think the auto-industry bailout should perhaps have been conducted with more guidelines in it, to get rid of things like corporate jets and the like, so that the money would actually go preserving jobs and trying to raise Michigan's economy out of the already dismal state it's in.

[PaulisMine]

I don't think there should have been a bailout of the banks, nor do I think this bailout should go through. You make bank with capitalism, you should also go under if you can't compete. It's the law of the marketplace. It is disgusting to me that they blame the unions, instead of the CEOs.

[beatlebangs1964]

I am totally AGAINST it too. Talk about ROBBING the taxpayers!

As for me, I'm happy with a Honda. Good mileage; fuel efficient and a damn good car to boot!

[beatlelover45223]

Whether you support another bailout or not, the image of a company like Ford going out of business would do way more harm than people want to admit. Forget the lost jobs at Ford and all of the other businesses in the industry that supply them. The harm to the national psyche is what I'm talking about. It's like the sun not rising or something.

I agree Jerry, there are tons of jobs to be lost, I do agree that there needs to be a plan put in place and adhered too, if any monies are to cross paths with the big 3.

[Lady Madonna]

I'm not 100% against a bailout, but the 3 companies should have to declare bankruptcy first. If the government just gives them money without a bankruptcy, nothing will change internally and the companies will just burn through the cash and be in the same situation. If they file chapter 11 the board will probably be ousted and some of their debt may be forgiven or at least changed to be somewhat manageable. Either way, I feel for those who work in the auto industry. I work for a bank, and with all the problems the banking industry has had over the past few months, I totally understand the fear that the company you work for might not be there tomorrow.

[beatlebangs1964]

Jerry made a valid point. Ford has been a long established company and it has an interesting history, not to mention cool cars of the 60s like Falcons, Galaxies, Falcons, Thunderbirds, Falcons, Fairlanes, Falcons, Mercury Comets, Falcons, Mercury Montereys and of course some very cool 1960-1965 Falcons. Their slogan was "Drive a Ford! It's a BETTER IDEA! Ford gives you BETTER IDEAS!"

Think of how the economic bottom will be kicked out from Michigan. A large portion of revenue comes from Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. GM is financially in the toilet now and Ford is floundering. This is seriously unsettling.

The psychological harm is far greater and in the case of Ford, is multi-fold. Ford was one of the few companies willing to hire black employees. Many people left Jim Crow areas in the South as Ford's Light Bulb was the Northern Light/Drinking Gourd.

I knew a woman who had an elderly relative who had worked for Ford for decades. He left a small town in Alabama as Ford was the only place who would hire him. A loyal, dependable worker, he enjoyed the retirement he got from Ford after his many years of service.

This man was very interesting. He related his trip "up North," as he said, "on a train for Michigan. Mr. Ford was hiring and there were a lot of good workers that come out of the south. Nobody was hiring down there and there was too much bigotry for folks to see it ain't about color, it's about being a good worker. Mr. Ford knew that and that's why a lot of us come up there to Michigan. I was on the Ford Assembly line for more than 30 years and never missed too many days. See, Mr. Ford knew it ain't just about the work; there is honor when you work. You can be proud. I've been a Ford man all my driving life and I will keep on driving a Ford til I can't drive no more. See, if somebody is willing to take a chance on you, you've got to repay them. That's how it came to be that I got to working for Ford all those years. Got me a Ford car now, though I don't drive it as much. Still, I wouldn't own any other. Many of you young people don't know how bad it was in the South before Civil Rights. President Johnson, he was a saint. Him and FDR both were saints. FDR led us up out of the depression and in 1965 LBJ signed that voting law [Voters' Rights Act of 1965]. Now nobody can take that away from you. Living in Detroit, I never missed a vote once. That's why I never left Michigan." You can learn from listening to people's life experiences and draw insights that no history book could ever give you.

Damn shame this is happening. I hate to think of what this is going to do to people and how it will negatively impact on their economic well being.

[jtal909]

it's tough to comprehend bailing out the auto industry, ins companies, banks, etc. where the execs get hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses and more in salaries.

[beatlelover45223]

it's tough to comprehend bailing out the auto industry, ins companies, banks, etc. where the execs get hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses and more in salaries.

Good points jtal...

Now, in my opinion on the Execs that have let these companies fail and walk away/sit by with millions in their pockets, I think prosecution would be a good option, how can they walk away with all the money one could ever dream of and stand there with their hands out for bailout money, that is something that I wish the government could intervene in, looking into prosecuting banks and auto indutry Execs in particular! Capitalism can be a great thing but those are not Capitalist, to me they are greedy cowards!

[FPSHOT]

well this whole thing started in the US mortgage failure which now has the "whole world" in a financial crisis which causes thousands of people their job and millions of people a very bad financial time, so any recovery of that is needed.

The Auto industry is one and yes I also have my doubts about the urgency but do not forget that industries like suppliers also play a significant role here.

Yet I do see the point because one example is that insurer AIG got one too and then the next weekend the UK board were out on a nice weekend trip "In the country". There are more examples like that and for many that is hard to take. But I do see progress.

[darkhorse23]

Now the home builders have their hands out. Who's next? (Not the CD) This has to stop. No bailout! If Ford, GM and Chrysler ALL go out of business (which isn't going to happen), the free market will provide jobs because companies like Toyota, Saturn, Honda etc. will pick-up the slack...as needed.

And Bush and Obama support this. Glad I never voted for either.

[jtal909]

the execs still get their bonuses

[Hari's Chick]

daBx_PBrvSE

:wink1:

[beatlelover45223]

Now the home builders have their hands out. Who's next? (Not the CD) This has to stop. No bailout! If Ford, GM and Chrysler ALL go out of business (which isn't going to happen), the free market will provide jobs because companies like Toyota, Saturn, Honda etc. will pick-up the slack...as needed.

And Bush and Obama support this. Glad I never voted for either.

Just thought I'd point out Saturn is GM....

[beatlelover45223]

The Auto industry is one and yes I also have my doubts about the urgency but do not forget that industries like suppliers also play a significant role here.



My point back a few and Jerry's too, 1000's of companies supply all the parts for the assembly, so you let the BIG 3 go down the tubes and there goes millions of other jobs, a lot of the US cars are assembled in Canada, that would be a fiasco for them too!

I did read after taking a private jet to Washington to ask for bailout money GM took out of service 3 of their 5 private jets, whoops, someone was watchin ya guys! :rolleyes:

[beatlelover45223]

well this whole thing started in the US mortgage failure which now has the "whole world" in a financial crisis which causes thousands of people their job and millions of people a very bad financial time, so any recovery of that is needed.



A lot of those loans in the US mortgage crisis, are foreign(to the US) companies that hold those failed loans.

[beatlelover45223]

the execs still get their bonuses

Yup, that's why I say go after them (the execs), there has to be something criminal they can be charged with, never mind unethical, what ever became of the honor of giving back your salary or a good part (because your already rich and doing quite nicely) of it to support their employees and the company till times got better...

[darkhorse23]

Just thought I'd point out Saturn is GM....

Thanks. I stand corrected.

[Get Back]

I just wish to point out that the problems faced by these auto distributors are not restricted to the US alone, but affect international markets as well. I work in the auto industry in Australia with a local distributor of imported Toyota & Mitsubishi cars, parts, and service. If one of these guys went under, millions of people around the world who sell, repair or provide parts for these cars, would lose their jobs. It would be a global disaster. I think what the US govt is a sensible move because of the global impact. I do think however that the execs of these companies have to face some sort of accountability.

[62hofner]

Our stupid American auto industry has been ignoring the writing on the wall for years and years... in the name of their greed they continued producing big gas-guzzling SUV's and other such cars that only fed our insatiable thirst for foreign oil when they should have been focused on small, fuel-efficient vehicles!

Sorry if this comment is slightly off-topic. But I feel no sympathy for any of the "big three" auto makers.

[62hofner]

The $7 billon was only meant for Wall Street, and now everyone and their dog wants it. The auto industry is proof of this.



I've made a couple dumb financial decisions in my lifetime which effected me for many years after (and still do, I am sure!).... but nobody bailed ME out! I say f*ck 'em!

[62hofner]

Excuse me for butting in but, wasn't the US auto industry in trouble even before the current credit crunch? If Ford and Chrysler continue to build, and try to force on the market, gas guzzlers in a time when people struggle to fill the tank of an imported Honda, well, should the tax payer pay for bad corporate strategy too?

You said it, hibgal!

[Esmirelda]

I saw a great bumper sticker:

Bailout Studebaker

[beatlebangs1964]

good bumpersticker.

One I'd like to see is "Falcons & Galaxies - Ford's Last Better Ideas"