Posted on 11/15/2008 6:05:44 AM PST by reaganaut1
General Motors Corp., hoping to sway the battle in Washington over an auto-industry bailout, has begun telling federal officials that a bankruptcy filing by the car maker would set off a chain reaction hammering hundreds of suppliers and dealers -- and in turn the company's Detroit rivals.
GM is attempting to set the terms for what looks to be a showdown among the lame-duck U.S. Congress, President Bush and the incoming Obama administration. On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled he will move forward on Monday with a bill giving the industry access to the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. That entity, known as TARP, was set up by the government in October to help ailing banks and other financial firms.
The Bush administration and many Senate Republicans oppose giving auto makers access to TARP. Instead, President Bush on Friday urged Congress to speed up the release of $25 billion in already-approved loans to the auto industry. He asked Congress to drop requirements that those loans be used to help the industry retool to meet higher fuel-economy standards, a step many Democrats oppose. The Republicans have enough votes to block a deal in the Senate.
Amid the political horse trading, GM is holding meetings this weekend with U.S. Congressional leaders, the Bush White House and members of the Obama transition team, according to people familiar with the situation. The efforts are an attempt to show policy makers how a GM bankruptcy filing would unleash unintended consequences that could cripple the country's industrial base.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
You logic mystifies me. No we will not be back in the same mess if these cars that pictures are posted of are as good as I hear. Then the “Bridge Loan” will not be throwing good money after bad.
Has management's attititude changed? The union's? If not, then the point ain't moot.
I’d rather see the money go to consumers to buy the cars. Then we know the cars would be build and used. I don’t like either option but I’d far rather see the consumers get the money. (That’s us, folks.)
Puts me in mind of this quote...
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.
Alexis de Tocqueville
Sigh.
This housing, credit crisis is the result of a bunch of libs enriching themselves off encouraging buyers who are not credity worthy to buy houses they could not afford. They also forced lenders to make loans that were not going to be repaid.
My house has no mortgage. When our children were small, they had multiple medical problems. They had all the medical care they needed and no one helped us pay a dime of it. We had special glasses, shoes, multiple surgeries, you name it, we had it.
I took care of my own kids. Now, I'm expected to take care other people's children and if I dont' want to do that, I'm not compassionate.
We paid off every loan we ever had. We were very low income people for most of our lives. Now that we were frugal, we're expected to take care of others--forcibly!!!
We have a whole generation of those who feel they are "entitled". I despise liberalism. It is destructive and will kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
“People who believe in their country’s future and are not willing to sacrifice long term economic stability for cheap foreign toys.”
Like Escalades and Fusions and PT cruisers made in mexico?
Every family in North America has a horror story of bad quality and reliability from these companies, going back to the early 70’s.
People are not going to risk their own financial security (in a recession no less) to prop up these brain dead companies.
Ford Mondeo - made in europe
ford fiesta - to be made in mexico
ford fusion - currently made in mexico
ford transit - made in turkey
ford c-max - made in germany
anyone else see a pattern here?
I can read quite well, thank you. Bailing out an inefficient industry is NOT in the best interests of the country (meaning the taxpayers and good citizens). Let it go....
Businesses have reached this point before and gone into bankruptcy, gotten rid of waste, reorganized, improved their products and succeeded. The auto industry can do the same.
I still think it’s a bad idea. By the way, how much more auto insurance would one have to pay on these lighter cars?
“We paid off every loan we ever had. We were very low income people for most of our lives. Now that we were frugal, we’re expected to take care of others—forcibly!!!”
You’re NOT alone. And, generally, it’s those with good virtues (which are so looked down on by liberal types) that caused us to live within our means and save (even if that hurt a bit)...as well as contribute to charity.
I can't speak for GM.
I used to to think Waggoner was a toad, but watching him trying to turn GM around will all the constraints, I have to say he is better than I thought.
As far as Ford Mgt, They got the guy Boeing past over and IMHO was a stupid move and it was Ford's gain.
Mulally (Ford's new CEO) is changing the culture from what my gnomes tell me. (He is leading and accepting no roadblocks) Little things that I can't get into here.....
The Unions? Your guess is as good as mine....
If they are 5 star rated and have side curtain airbags, you might fair better than you think... BTW, Ford at least is shooting for 4 or 5 star crash ratings for all their cars...
I am not going to stick up for the UAW, but these are the facts as I know them.
1.) The pay is now at parity with Toyota i.e. $48/ hr ( vs. $73) with the new 2 ter wage system. The fly in that ointment is getting many still in the plants to take a package.
2nd.) The UAW has adopted "Toyota-like" work rules at plants, many occured quitely plant by plant even before the main contract was ratified.
So you tell me, are they at least coming to the table in a spirit of change and accepting it?
Do you own due diligence on what I have stated, If I am wrong tell me.
I do not have the plant plans, but I may be able to find out......
Nice work if you can get it. Pulled this off a website, Carpe Diem, a blog of an econ professor’s at Flint Michigan: Labor cost per hour, wages and benefits for hourly workers, 2006.
Ford: $70.51 ($141,020 per year)
GM: $73.26 ($146,520 per year)
Chrysler: $75.86 ($151,720 per year)
Bottom Line: The average UAW worker with a high school degree earns 57.6% more compensation than the average university professor with a Ph.D. (see graph above, click to enlarge), and 52.6% more than the average worker at Toyota, Honda or Nissan.
Not 100% sure it is accurate, but interesting.
See post 54....
I am STILL wondering about insurance rates for the lighter cars.
They should’ve made better cars.
My point was that the “american jobs” rhetoric was bogus as almost all of the cars you pointed to as world beaters were manufactured outside North America (and more so for the parts).
It makes sense for the Big 3 to try and bring in vehicles designed for high gas tax markets, but it is too little too late. They had 35 years to reinvent themselves, they can’t do it suddenly between now and December.
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