Comments on: No New Deal For Big Three

National Review: Bankruptcy, Properly Approached, Is The Best Option For U.S. Automakers

[rational_1]

Letting the big three go under to distroy the UAW is penny wise and pound folish. If the automakers go under it is likely that they will bring the economy over the cliff as they go under. They need a conditional bailout.
Posted by IMNHO at 10:47 PM : Dec 04, 2008

Did you not read the article? What proof do you have they would go under? Just because a company goes into chapter 11 doesn''t mean it''s the end of that company. United Airlines is a case in point. If we give the Big 3 any money it will just delay the inevitable. Again United Airlines is a good example - they underwent significant reorganization before emerging from bankruptcy. The car companies should do likewise. By the way, if we bail out the car companies, why not also Circuit City? A bunch of people will be losing their jobs due to Circuit City going bankrupt. And if we bail out Circuit City why not the corner Mom and Pop grocery store who might otherwise have to lay off a stockboy? Where does it end?

[imnho]

Letting the big three go under to distroy the UAW is penny wise and pound folish. If the automakers go under it is likely that they will bring the economy over the cliff as they go under. They need a conditional bailout.

[salliemb]

SO, NANCY PELOSI SAYS BANKRUPTCY IS NOT AN OPTION FOR THE AUTO MAKERS. WELL, WHO DIED AND MADE HER THE SUPREME DECIDER? SHE NEED TO LISTEN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. OVER 60% SAY NO TO A BAIL OUT. THE AMOUNT THEY WANT KEEPS GOING UP. FIRST $25 BILLION AND THEN $34 BILLION AND NOW SOME ARE SAYING $75-125 BILLION. WHERE IS THIS MONEY COMING FROM? THE $700 BILLION BAIL OUT FOR THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS HAS DONE VERY LITTLE IF ANYTHING. NOW WE ARE ASKED TO BAIL OUT AN INDUSTRY THAT SPENDS MONEY LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW. MANYBE THERE SHOULD BE NO TOMORROW FOR THEM.

[jeannettelj]

At first I was all for the government helping the auto industry. Now, after all that I''ve been reading I am absolutely against it. They have dug their own grave and the UAW gave them the shovel. Paid for not working, sleeping and cooking meals while they were suppose to be working, getting paid $400. per week if they are laid off, getting their health insurance paid for when laid off, and so many other things that make the rest of look like fools for working and making an honest living. When we get laid off we have to file for unemployment and wait 3-6 weeks for a check. They need to file for bankruptcy and let the chips fall where they may.

[ltthomas13]

This is the end result of the union experience...greedy and lazy workers who want higher compensation for less work.
This is the end result of over the top executive compensation...greedy suits flying around in corporate jets and not understandingy why it''s a bad idea.
This is the end result of the free market...consumers will no longer pay for a very expensive product that is inferior to the product of the international transplants (Honda and Toyota) that remain profitable.

Is anybody really surprised. If so, you probably are an exec at one of the big three or a member of the UAW.

[joepack61]

I see early model Ford Contours (1996 and 1997) and Ford Tauruses on the road. Many people confuse durability with initial quality (how many times the buyer under warranty goes to the dealer for any little complaint about any little squeak or rattle). Edmunds dot com consistently lists many US models as a "best used car value".

[joepack61]

Consumer Distorts magazine carries some blame for the decline of the Detroit 3. They seem biased towards the imports. They compared the Pontiac G6 to the Nissan Altima in one issue. The two were almost identical in the numbers comparison, and the G6 exceeded in some categories like braking distance. Yet the CR eggheads gave the nod to the Altima because the G6 "had a small backseat." It is only up to the consumer to decide if the backseat is too small for their purposes. These same eggheads gave the Chrysler Pacifica a "recommend" rating in an early model year, but then revoked that same "recommend" in later years because the %u201Cwindow beltline was too high%u201D, something that never changed in the vehicle, is entirely subjective, and didn%u2019t bother around 60,000 buyers each year.

[joepack61]

As pointed out in testimony today, the US automakers have finacial units that should qualify for the $700 billlion TARP money, but they have been denied so far. Have not the other financial companies like CitiCorp that have recieved billlions of TARP bailout money not been mismanaged too? If it weren''t for these companies that caused the financail meltdown and received billions of BAILOUT Tarp money from the government, we wouldn''t even be talking about the U.S. Three.

[joepack61]

Starting around 2010, new UAW workers will start at $14.00 per hour pay under concessions already made by the UAW. Landscapers and construction workers can make around $18.00 per hour pay, believe it or don%u2019t.

[forasongca]

The US auto industry has been making this particular bed for the last 30-40 years, fighting every safety and mileage improvement and forcing the foreign carmakers to reduce imports in the early 80s rather than taking the opportunity to (*gasp*) try to make better cars. I say let them die in it. American cars last five or six years; Japanese cars last 10-15 years. ''Nuff said.