(1) wiping out the stock (2) cutting the principal and interest of the bonds by 2/3, which reflects where they are currently trading (3) big layoffs, no jobs bank, no restrictive work rules, pay cuts, no retiree health benefits I could support a government loan to a newly viable company.
But I know that if the government opens the door to more "loans", the workers and investors will expect the company to operate as is, with no real changes. So reluctantly, I have to say let them go bust. A bankruptcy judge will do a better job of fixing the company than Bush, Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and my personal hero, Henry Paulson.
They could give ten million Americans coupons for $20,000 each to buy a new car. Someone would get some real good out of the 200 billion.
Contact all your reps in Congress to protest the bailout of the auto industry.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt
And, what really pisses me off, they are sending all these lobbyists to DC to demand more of our money.
How much do you think that costs?
It is ridiculous to bail-out a mismanaged company operating under preposterous union contracts when the rest of the country's citizens, strapped themselves, don't make anything close to the wages of these overpaid people.
Bailing out industrial inefficiency is not in the long-term interests of the American taxpayers.
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have had DECADES to be competitive and make a product that outsells the competition.
Rewarding this failure is a disaster for America regardless of the short-term pain to be endured. It will only prolong the inevitable collapse of poorly run companies making products nobody will buy.
let's talk about, GM's "Mr. Goldwrench."
You go into a GM dealer's service department and the bastards charge you $600 to replace door latches on a van.
The "big three" have been ripping consumers a new one for a very long time with their dealer service departments charging a fortune even for simple repair and replacement of shoddy parts built cheaply to begin with.
Let the "Big Three" fail - Change we can believe in!
I have opposed any corporate bailouts, including auto. On a popular auto discussion program this morning I did hear an interesting point. The US auto makers make our military equipment during times of war.
this is why the beltway disease is so incideious.
(see cong wexler NOT living in his district since elected)
most of the ads like this are NEVER seen outside the DC area. Perception is reality. The belway isolated never seem to get the rest of the USA never sees these BS pushes.
BTW all you mention would be done in a bankrupcy.
That is why the UAW is in terror of a bankruptcy.
The first issue with GM obtaining bankruptcy REORGANIZATION bankruptcy is the debtor in posession financing.
They need money to run while under bankruptcy protection.
The unions must be fighting this in the background in order to trick congresses hand.
I just hope this is left to Obama(tax).
