In this economy, they'd have thousands lined up, ready to take non-union jobs.
Problem is, building new facilities would take years.
Posted on 12/10/2008 4:44:31 PM PST by Libloather
Stand Up on the Auto Bailout, GOP!
December 10, 2008
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
Yes, yes, we're going to get to the auto bailout. This really steams me, by the way. Well, you know, I'm getting so sick and tired... Here we had the auto execs, the white-collar guys, they gotta get fired. Pelosi and everybody else were saying they don't know how to run their business. Obama was seen saying the same thing. We're going to get a car czar in there. We're gonna somebody who knows how to run the auto business 'cause these guys don't. If they want their money, blah, blah, blah. They had the guts to fly in here. How come nobody's telling us how Gettelfinger got to Washington? Did Gettelfinger fly in on a jet or did he drive in in a General Motors car? How come we never hear about any of the excesses of the unions? We don't hear about that because that's who the bailout's actually for.
This is a travesty what is happening here. It is a pure, 100% travesty. There is so much anger for this bailout out there. If the Republicans do not stand up to this, I don't care how much Obama screws up, nobody's going to have the guts to vote for Republicans anymore. A lot of Republicans are saying, "But, Rush, how do we oppose this? This is President Bush, and he's doing this. President Bush is signing off on it." Take a stand! You gonna be dealing with an incoming Democrat administration that you're going to have to be taking stands against all the time. Take a stand on this.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
You know what we need in this country? We do not need a car czar. We need a union czar. Why do we have to have a car czar? Why do we have to have somebody from the government, "I'm here to help you run the auto business"? I'll tell you why. It's to protect the unions and to get all these green -- by the way, a little question here. Somehow the future of the US auto business, according to all these wizards of smart in Washington is what? The electric car, right? The sales of electric cars in Europe , and they're a bunch of wusses in Europe . I mean Europe would sign on to any of these newfangled stupid moves to protect the climate, right? Sales of electric cars are plummeting, like 156 this year. They're going to have to force us into these things, but there's a problem, I think, ladies and gentlemen, because electric cars need what? Electricity. And even if you have a battery in there you still have to recharge the car.
What do you do? Plug it in. I mean that's where we're headed here. You plug it in. Right. Well, where do we get our electricity? Little pop quiz. You know what percentage of our electricity comes from coal? Try well over half. Try well over half of our electricity comes from coal, which Obama says we need to get rid of. And his cap-and-trade program he says will put the coal industry out of business, no new coal plants. So where we gonna get the electricity to drive around these little putt-putts? You think Plaxico Burress is going to go drive around in an electric car? Hmm? You got another thing coming if you think Plaxico Burress is going to go buy an electric car. How do you outrun the cops in an electric car after you've shot yourself in a nightclub at one o'clock in the morning on your way to the hospital?
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: A couple of Senate Republicans, Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn (DeMint from South Carolina, Coburn from Oklahoma) are standing up against the auto bailout. DeMint first.
DEMINT: The argument that is being made today is that people will not buy a car if a company is in bankruptcy, is a bogus argument. Americans are not stupid.
RUSH: Yes, they are.
DEMINT: They know that this bailout is only a temporary solution. They're much less likely to buy an American car with this bailout plan.
RUSH: Get this. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma.
COBURN: In 2007, GM sold 9.37 million cars worldwide. Toyota, that same year, sold 9.37 million cars worldwide. GM lost 38.7 billion. Toyota made 17.7 billion. Therein lies the problem.
RUSH: Shazam. Did you catch that? They sold an equal number of cars, Toyota and GM: 9.37 million, worldwide. GM lost 38.7 billion, Toyota made 17.7 billion.
I've never heard this statistic reported. Course from day 1 I've said let GM fail, Toyota (or some other company) will pick up the slack in production to meet customer demand.
In this economy, they'd have thousands lined up, ready to take non-union jobs.
Problem is, building new facilities would take years.
Oddly Toyota’s sales versus the prior year dropped MORE than Ford’s. I support Ford and GM but not the UAW.
Toyota got their new factory in San Antonio up and running in about three years. Most of that was construction.
GM has a plant in Oklahoma that they recently built... and then closed. Ford has a plant in Atlanta that they’re either closing or have closed already. Overhaul those and you’re back up and running in a fraction of the time.
IMHO here is what is going on and needs to be addressed by even to most ardent Freepers.
One this is a Bankruptcy in everything but using the "B" word. Everyone gets a haircut just as Pelosi noted which is what happens in a Bankruptcy. The Czar gets to do the job of a Bankruptcy Judge. The question is, will the UAW really play ball. GM gets recapitalized. But what does not happen is what happen to Delphi. They ended up with $10/hr jobs vs. the $14 or so for the 2nd tier guys under the new contract which EVERYONE forgets to mention.
As far as Chrysler, my guess is it for the orderly dis-assembly with the only viable parts being the MiniVan Business and Jeep.
But the real issue?
Suppliers. I spoke to one my "gnomes" who is an engr for one of these Japanese transplants, and these aren't his thoughts but MHO, but he did raise concerns. But the prevalent theory here in auto land is this: their is so much reliance on the Tier Suppliers by the big-3 and their competitors that if GM fails it may take Ford down in the undertow and if they fail so will Toyota and Honda. Ergo the "Tsunami" comment that was used in the Congressional Hearings.
Serious stuff, bash me if you must but I call them as I see them......
Good point! Thanks for the info.
Here’s a nice bit about Ford’s new state-of-the-art factory in Brazil. It’s so versatile it can simultaneously support up to 5 different platforms on the same line.
http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/12/03/union-stifles-modern-auto-innovation/
Thanks to everyone who voted in our online poll last week about the Big Three. Nearly 75,000 of you voted and overwhelmingly supported bankruptcy over a bailout by a margin of 91% to 9%.
http://www.americansolutions.com/Blog/Read.aspx?guid=bc2d9218-bfb3-4efd-bc4c-78ee10dcae16
Dick Armey's Freedom Works says Say NO to the Auto Makers Bailout!
The big three won’t move to right to work states. They still pay people too much money. No, they’re headed straight off-shore. Why pay an American $12.00 an hour + benefits + all of the regulatory overburden when they can pay peanuts in the rest of the world. Think global trade. If they can produce a product in the third world for next to nothing, what’s stopping them from doing so? They just need to get out of their contracts, declare bankruptcy, buy enough time to re-organize offshore, and wash their hands of the U.S. market. The auto industry is headed the way of textiles, electronics, and all other consumer goods. This would be a sound strategy for the domestic automakers.
Bush is past tense. Meaningless except for his forthcoming soon to be overruled executive decisions. Next question?
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You hear this, Republican Congresscritters?!
You’ve been hearing the same rumors as me. Most of the people here don’t realize how intertwined ALL of the auto plants in the U.S. are. All of them buy parts from the same suppliers. When your biggest customer quits putting in orders, will the rest be able to take up the slack? The company my wife works for makes parts for several auto companies. 70% by volume of the work comes from GM, with the balance coming from Toyota, Honda, and the rest. They were told recently that if they lose their GM contracts, they will close their doors. They make parts for all of them on the same tooling. Who will take their place? How long will the transplants hang around after this? I have no beef with the foreign automakers, but when a major player takes a hit, the rest of the players get it also.
Now if only half of Freepdom would hear us as well as all the transplant drivers in the blue states that want to see our demise....
“Most of the people here don’t realize how intertwined ALL of the auto plants in the U.S. are. All of them buy parts from the same suppliers.”
I was listening to talk radio and a mechanic called to talk about this. The caller claimed the American auto parts were priced much more highly than, say, Toyota. Yet, they are often the same part. Any mechanics out there want to agree or disagree with this statement? I know of someone who just paid a crazy amount of money for one plastic part - add a few other parts and labor and the final cost of the repair was very high for what should have been (and probably was in years past) a fairly simple repair.
Both Jaguar and GM use this same connector, now sourced from Delphi.
How much do you think the Chevy dealer wanted for it, how much do you think the Jaguar dealer wanted for it, and how much do you think I can get it in quantities of 1 from a Delphi distributor for?
But make money. There lies a problem for the Dems. Unions are the poster examples for socialism and the Dems.
The unions have lost membership but the dems still see them as just large CONTROLED blocks of voters.
That is why they want that voting act pushed into place for the unions. More assured Dem voters.
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