Trabant 600 Wagon
Posted on 11/09/2008 11:13:31 AM PST by tobyhill
In his first interview since joining the Barack Obama team, incoming White House Chief of Staff Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., said this morning that Obama supports government assistance for the auto industry using existing authority.
"First the auto industry is an essential part of our economy and an essential part of our industrial base," Emanuel said in a "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" interview.
"Second they should look at accelerating the $25 billion that was offered for re-tooling for the industry going forward.
Third, there are other authorities within the administration that they should use at this time and fourth, President-elect Obama has asked his economic team to look at different options at what it takes to help bridge the auto industry so not only are they apart of a revived economy but part of an energy policy where America is less dependent of foreign oil."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Trabant 600 Wagon
At the end of 2002, General Motors, the company with the largest workforce and therefore the greatest pension obligation, had $39 billion in pension assets.
A major UAW goal in pension negotiations is to provide basic lifetime pension benefits that replace a reasonable percent of the worker’s pre-retirement income. This is part of the “three-legged stool” of retirement security, which includes a pension, government Social Security benefits and personal savings.
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October 22, 2007
Under GM’s new contract with the UAW, new hires for nonproduction jobs will earn $15.30 in base pay after initially getting $14-an-hour training pay. Including health insurance and a 401(k)-style pension plan, the new hires will make $25.65 an hour, GM said.
Existing GM hourly employees earn base wages of $28.12 an hour. Including health insurance ...
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March 12, 2004
GM Says Health Care Obligation Hit $67.5B
GM currently pays health care expenses for 450,000 retirees
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March 7, 2006
GM retirees balk at higher health care costs
General Motors Corp. retirees asked a federal judge Monday to reject a settlement that would require them to pay more for their health care, saying it violates their contracts. But GM and the United Auto Workers said the agreement is critical to the struggling automaker’s future. “This is the only hope that there is that GM will be able to continue to survive,” said Julia Penny Clark, an attorney for the UAW. “GM is at risk of not being able to provide these benefits.”
Next time America needs to manufacture a bunch of main battle tanks in an extreme hurry — there will be some posters on this board who will be happy, our auto industry is getting some support right now.
none of GM’s management miscues was so damaging to its long-term fate as the rich pensions and health care that robbed [GM] of its financial flexibility and ultimately, of its cash. ... Detroit was too flush to envision it would ever face a financial strain. ... [GM] got into the dubious habit of steadily increasing worker benefits. In the ‘90s, the consequences of maintaining a corporate welfare state became too obvious to ignore. ... GM acknowledged it its most recent annual report that from 1993 to 2007 it spent $103 billion ‘to fund legacy pensions and retire health care.’
Maybe he should suggest a $700 billion bail out.
The government gives them money. The government tells them what to build.
UAW urges public to oppose House bill that harms pensions - 12/06/05
The U.S. House is about to take up a pensions bill that the United Auto Workers says will outlaw early retirement benefits in plant closing and will freeze the pension benefits of hundreds of thousands of workers in well-funded plans by changing accounting rules. Alan Reuther is Legislative Director for the UAW.
[Alan Reuther 1] : “These proposals we think are being pushed by people who want to get rid of defined benefit pensions plans. And that’s why they’re pushing these counterproductive ideas.”
“We’re asking people to call their members of Congress and to urge them to oppose this pension bill and to send a strong message that it’s not right to be freezing the pensions of workers and retirees.
the all new GM HUGO is here! (A Yugo named after O’s best friend Chavez.)
Emmanuel is a moron who doesn’t understand anything except the nice cushy office he works out of.
Of course if he had a lick of common sense, he would realize that the work crews that built his office, home, etc... relied on trucks.
indebted to the UAW.
There you go. It’s the UAW goons that got the corporate boytoy elected...they and all the union comrades out there
Exactly. Obama wants to reward and encourage bad management and failure.
With our money.
“Let Chrysler die”
Makes sense, but we are moving to liberal fascism/big government conservatism.
In the old days these companies would look to banks for loans. Banks are for the little people these days, the big guys go for the govt. moolah, while the class warriors are distracted by obsessions with unions.
Sweeeeeeet
Some UAW union guy hearing this is booking an extra 2 week vacation to Hawaii, purchasing a new ski-doo, reconsidering that vacation home, getting braces for the kids and putting an extra $200 down on the Lions.
That must be the Sports Model w/ racing stripe.
Translation: We don't want black riots on the streets of Detroit: It just wouldn't look good if there were rioting given that Obama won....
Not to worry. They'll be cranked out in peace-loving, free and wonderful paradise of the democratic People's Republic of China, a.k.a Red China.
But hurry! GM can help Red China more with some of the money now!
General Motors Aims to Raise Stake in China Venture
"Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., the biggest overseas automaker in China, is in talks with a local partner to increase its stake in a venture that produces vans and light trucks under the Wuling brand.
The U.S. automaker is seeking to buy additional shares in SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., Hu Maoyuan, chairman of SAIC Motor Corp., said yesterday in an interview in Tianjin. SAIC is the majority shareholder of the venture with 50.1 percent, GM owns 34 percent and Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co. holds the rest. . . . "
This is a payout to the union voters that put Obama in power. All “bailouts” in future will buy votes for Obama’s re-election.
So how does this position jibe with the fact that their government wants to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on “green” projects designed to lower “greenhouse gases”? If you jack up the carbon taxes, the first ones to suffer will be the Detroit automakers.
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