Posted on 11/17/2008 9:35:11 AM PST by nateriver
Four generations of my family worked in General Motors Plants. My great grandfather, grandfather, father, brothers and I all worked for Buick Motor Division in Flint, Michigan. After working my way through college at the Buick Engine Plant, I became an economic analyst and then a supervisor at another GM plant. My family was so loyal to General Motors that we considered a Ford a foreign car. This is why it makes it particularly painful for me to say that there should not be a bailout.
(Excerpt) Read more at regularfolksunited.com ...
Ditto.
I have not heard a single reason why a government bailout would be superior to a bankruptcy filing unless you consider keeping unrealistic benefits for a few union members at the expense of taxpayers a reason. Shareholders should not be rewarded for making a poor choice and letting poor Management stay entrenched.
Bought my last GM car in 1979....
They build CRAP!!!!!
Once the decision is made to restrict the $350 Billion (+another 350 NOT) to the Financial Industry, other industries will quit wasting their time whining about bailouts and get back to work! You’re in good company with other great Americans who have just stumbled a bit. On a clear day you’ll always see GM! and when they put the union coffin behind them, eventually they’ll be as competitive as the Japanese! (full disclosure—I’d never buy a Japanese car)
Wait, you mean that those companies aren't around anymore? I guess America can survive.
Union Thugs spent $ 400,000,000 of stolen union member money getting Obama elected. They are simply demanding that they get what they paid for.
“Let them file Chapter 11 and reorganize”
Agreed.
More like Tanks for the Memories.
Exactly! Management must make the hard choices necessary to survive on their own, and this means telling the UAW that they either back off on their demands or the industry withers and dies. I fail to see why MY tax dollars should be used to bailout any company, let alone one that has let is hourly wage costs soar to more than $73/hour. Are assembly line workers really worth $146,000 per year? Nope, it's time to bite the bullet and fix things that have allowed costs to get out of whack this far or to silently fold your tent and go home.
sorry but i gotta call you on that one...it is not 1979, it is 2009, and GM builds some of the best cars out there, very high quality products ( I would buy one if I could afford it ) but the problem is they are very high priced...
“The strength of the union and the weakness of management made it impossible to conduct business properly at any level. For instance, I had an employee who punched in his time card and then disappeared. The rules were such that I had to spend hours documenting that this man was not in his three foot by three foot work area. I needed witnesses, timed reports, calls over the intercom and a plant wide search all documented in detail. After this absurdity I decided to go my own route; I called the corner bar and paged him and he came to the phone. I gave him a 30 day unpaid disciplinary lay off because he was a “repeat offender”. When he returned he thanked me for the PAID vacation. I scoffed, until he explained: (1) He had tried to get the lay off because it was fishing season; (2) The UAW negotiated with GM Labor Relations Department to give him the time WITH PAY.”
Oh yeah - unions. They have such a valuable purpose...
I own a 2001 GMC Sierra 4WD extended cab pickup. Other than the tailgate cables, fixed for free, the truck has been flawless.
I would like to buy a new car once again in my lifetime. The prices are outrageous. I drive a Toyota pickup with 250,000 miles on it. My old Ford Thunderbird is sitting dead in the garage at 100,000 with the inside door handle broken off, the seatbelt nonfunctional, the lights non functional and an expensive overheating issue.
I thought that Ford started mass production with the idea that he would make an affordable automobile for the average family. Perhaps the big three need to go back to that idea.
They built crap in 1979, but today's GM quality is light years ahead of those days. Both Ford and GM have been steadily improving for years, to the point where Ford is now rated equal in quality ratings with Toyota/Honda.
The good news is that the Ford Family will have to sell the Detroit Lions, so maybe finally they can win a game.
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