Desperate Automakers Launch PR Campaign

Big Three Deploy Grassroots Tactics, Web Sites, Newspaper Ads For Bailout Help

(CBS/AP)  The Big Three automakers are taking a page out of their unions' playbooks as they deploy grassroots tactics to drum up public support for the proposed $25 billion auto industry bailout, which is on precarious ground in Washington, D.C.

"Mobilize Now!" cries a Web site created by General Motors Corp. at GMfactsandfiction.com. "Tell your U.S. senators and representatives that support for the U.S. auto industry is in America's best economic interest."

As GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC approached Congress with hat in hand, a whirl of activity in the traditional and new media intensified over the last two weeks to mount public pressure on lawmakers.

What happens to the industry "matters on Main Street," according the GM Web site's home page.

"If a plant closes, so does its suppliers, the local stores, the hot dog vendors, and the local restaurants," the site says.

The company ran a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday with a more business-oriented tone calibrated for that paper's readers.

"The grassroots effort was to correct falsities and misperceptions that are out there and help people get accurate information about the significant impact of the U.S. auto industry on America," said Kelly Cusinato, a spokeswoman for GM in Detroit.

GM also placed ads in USA Today and other publications to lay out its case that loaning car companies billions of dollars is good for America. Local dealers also placed ads in their cities' newspapers to support the effort.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of auto-state senators reached a last-ditch compromise to throw Detroit's Big Three a government lifeline worth billions, but the plan faces an uphill battle in a reluctant Senate.

Warning of economic disaster, Democrats and Republicans from auto industry states reached a deal on an alternative package that would temporarily divert money from a fuel-efficiency loan program to cover the Big Three's immediate costs. But it was unclear whether it could draw enough support to pass. The group, led by Sens. Carl M. Levin, D-Mich. and Kit Bond, R-Mo., scheduled a news conference to announce details.

Meanwhile, at Wednesday's media preview at the Los Angeles Auto Show, there was little of the usual fanfare from the Big Three.

Casting a shadow on the annual event's glitz was the absence of a news conferences or vehicle debuts from GM or Chrysler, whose top executives are in Washington begging for $25 billion in loans they say they need simply to stay in business.

In fact, CBS News correspondent Jeff Gilbert reported that Chrysler's exhibit looked particularly depressing, as the troubled automaker saved money by not adding extra lighting.

At the same time, Asian and European automakers are unveiling new models that will likely chip away at the U.S. market share.

With hats in hand, the leaders of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC painted a grim picture of their financial position during two days of congressional hearings this week, warning that the collapse of the auto industry could lead to the loss of 3 million jobs.

But a plan to give the troubled automakers billions of dollars in government-backed loans is stalled on Capitol Hill, leaving the fate of hundreds of thousands of workers and Detroit's once-venerable car companies hanging in the balance.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., canceled plans Wednesday for a vote on a bill to carve $25 billion in new auto industry loans out of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue fund. The Bush administration and congressional Republicans have rejected the Democrats' plan to dip into that pot of money.

Warning of economic disaster, a bipartisan group of senators from auto industry states is trying to reach a deal on an alternative package. Even if an agreement can be reached, Reid signaled Thursday that the Senate would likely not be able to consider the bill until after Thanksgiving.

"We have some procedural roadblocks," Reid said.

With all sides sensing doom for a rescue of the Big Three, the finger-pointing began.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said that if Congress "leaves for a two-month vacation without having addressed this important issue ... then Congress will bear responsibility for anything that happens."

Congressional Democrats countered that the Treasury Department already had the power to grant emergency funds to the automakers, but the Bush administration opposed the approach.

Detroit's automakers, hurt by a sharp drop in sales and a nearly frozen credit market, burned through nearly $18 billion in cash reserves during the last quarter - about $7 billion at GM, almost $8 billion at Ford and $3 billion at Chrysler. Both GM and Chrysler said they could collapse in weeks.

"I don't believe we have the luxury of a lot of time," GM CEO Rick Wagoner told a House hearing.

Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Co., said the company had enough cash reserves to make it through 2009. But United Auto Workers union president Ron Gettelfinger said a bankruptcy could spawn others.

"If there's a Chapter 11 (for) one of the companies, it will drag at least one other with them, if not all of them. And I do not believe Chapter 11 is where it will end. It will go to liquidation," he said ominously.

At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota's general manager Bob Carter said if an American automaker went away, everybody would be hurt.

"The supplier base and the dealer base is very much intermingled, so if there was a disastrous situation by one automotive brand, it would affect all automotive brands," Carter told CBS News' Jeff Gilbert

But CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr said the executives may have shot themselves in the foot with the way they arrived in Washington. "They painted this picture for Congress of a really deteriorating condition, warning that they're about to go under without some help," Orr said.

"Congress then learned that all three of these top CEOs from Detroit arrived in Washington, all separately, on their own personal corporate jet. These are expensive planes, expensive to operate, and so the question naturally was raised on the Hill, 'What are you doing? How can you come here on a private jet and then ask the taxpayers for money?'"

As calls for the Treasury Department to use some of the Congressionally-approved $700 billion bailout program for the auto industry go unheeded, GMAC Financial Services has applied to become a bank holding company, which would allow General Motors' financing arm to be eligible for aid under the government's bank rescue plan.

GMAC said Thursday the change in status would shore up its capital position and allow it to continue providing automotive and mortgage financing.

The financing arms of Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC may also apply to become bank holding companies, and therefore become eligible for a piece of the financial bailout being administered by Treasury.


Romney Says Bankruptcy, Not Bailout

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is behind the forces opposing a $25 billion "bridge loan" for struggling auto manufacturers.

Speaking Thursday morning amid growing signs of gridlock in Congress, Romney said "there's no question but that if you just write a check, you're going to see these companies go out of business ultimately."

He told CBS's The Early Show that he doesn't want to see the carmakers go out of business, "but we don't want them to continue business-as-usual."

Earlier this week Romney penned an op-ed for The New York Times titled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," in which he argued that if the Big Three automakers get the bailout they are asking for, "you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye."

Romney said that, without restructuring, Detroit won’t change course from the business practices that have brought them to the brink of collapse. "Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check," he wrote.

Romney, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination, has ties to Michigan. His father, George Romney, headed American Motors in the 1950s and was later the state's governor.

"If you write a check, you're going to see these companies go out of bounds ultimately," Romney told Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez. "Instead, we have to help these companies restructure - stay in business, but restructure. Shed the unnecessary costs, make them competitive with the transplants and the foreign cars and by virtue of doing that, make sure they stay in business long-term."

Romney clarified that by advocating bankruptcy he did not call for the automakers to close up shop, with the thousands of job losses that would ensue.

"Bankruptcy does not mean closing it down, liquidating it or losing any jobs. The course that this industry is on and been on the last couple of decades has been job loss after job loss, losing market share, unprofitability.

"What I'm talking about is using the court or out-of-court settlement or perhaps special legislation to help these companies get rid of the excess costs that make them noncompetitive, that mean ongoing job losses, and get these companies in a competitive position so they can stay and grow and add jobs. That's the course."

Romney said the kind of restructuring that went on at Chrysler under Lee Iacocca in the 1980s is what has to take place. He said the targets would be excess costs connected to labor, retirees and real estate. "Helping them shed these costs is what is essential," Romney told Rodriguez. "These companies have to become cost competitive or they're going to go away. That's why it's so important to help them. Don't just give them a check and expect them to spend it the way they've been spending the last few years."

What Is "Prepackaged Bankruptcy"?

Lately, the term "prepackaged bankruptcy" has been gaining currency in the halls of Congress as lawmakers struggle with pleas for help from the auto industry.

The idea, embraced by some Democrats and Republicans, would extend taxpayer help in exchange for a company undergoing an accelerated Chapter 11 reorganization. The arrangement could represent a model, or a deterrent, for any other strapped companies considering seeking government help.

Bankruptcy protection has worked before to turn debt-saddled companies in the steel, airline and retail industries into leaner and meaner successes. But a frozen credit market and the rigors of a Chapter 11 reorganization make it a difficult option for struggling companies and an unpalatable solution for many lawmakers.

Simply put, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy lets a company stay alive by paying off creditors over time, retaining control of its assets and reorganizing. In the process, they raise capital, downsize and renegotiate contracts to stay alive.

It's what United Airlines did in 2002. The company filed for Chapter 11, shrank its fleet, cut 26,000 jobs and reduced wages for the rest of its work force. In 2006, it successfully emerged from bankruptcy protection.

But the current financial crisis has changed the bankruptcy terrain. With credit markets frozen, companies would not find easy access to financing. That's why, even as some lawmakers insist that General Motors file for bankruptcy, they acknowledge that federal aid should be part of the package.

New York bankruptcy lawyer Mark Bane recommends that government assistance would serve best during the prepackaging process, leveraging the company's negotiations by setting an expiration deadline on the aid.

[buckscc]

I have been living on a salary in the mid $20,000 for years with no problems.
Why should I spend my money bailing out self centered over paid people who wouldn''t even give me the time of day.
I want my employer to pay me $74,000 a year like these poor UAW employes are.
The UAW ex-employees should get a real job like the rest of us and maybe they may appreciate things in life more.
The poor retiree''s healthcare - They are retirees, they should be getting Medicare. If they are too young for Medicare, then they are young enough to GET A REAL JOB.
The reason these guys were in the UAW is because they didn''t want to work in the first place, they just wanted to complain and make big money. It is time that they get a REAL JOB in the REAL WORLD!

I heard McDonalds was hiring.

[txgrouch2007]

The LOGICAL, INTELLIGENT solution is to relax the C.A.F.E. standards that are on the existing $25 billion loan that''s been allocated to the car makers.

In light of current economic conditions, the standards should be rolled back to something the current cars can meet - the standards should not be WAIVED ENTIRELY and give car makers carte blanche to make polluting gas guzzlers.

[txgrouch2007]

As I said, the LOGICAL and INTELLIGENT solution is to relax the C.A.F.E. standards to something the existing cars can meet.

But the REALITY is, the solution will be purely political.

The Democrats will want to just loan the money with no restrictions, in exchange for nationalizing the industry. Thus perpetuating the cycle of borrow, borrow, borrow in the name of "rescuing" the workers with no accountability anywhere for anybody. When they finish nationializing all the major industries one by one, we''ll wake up one morning and discover that we''re living in a communist state, and we''ll be waiting in line for two days to get a pair of shoes.

The Republicans will want to loan the money, provided that it goes only to pay bonuses to the top executives who make the big political contributions, and NONE of the money will filter down to the workers. They will defend their actions by saying "The workers should be glad they have a job at all. The executives deserve a bonus for keeping the company in business."

Logic and intelligence are the LAST thing that happens in Congress.

[mytoosense]

The Big Three may survive bankruptcy, however the thousands of hard working, non-union, highly competitively paid supplier companies to the Big Three will get stuck with the Big Three''s I.O.Us and will follow them into Chapter 11. With millions more out of work, if you sell anything in America, get ready for hard times.

[ramos937]

Romney has an excellent idea. Let the Big 3 go into Chapter 11 which allows them to tear up the terrible UAW labor contracts thereby lowering their costs immediately and big time. The feds could guarantee any bank loans but this has to be conditional.

I would not worry too much about the dealerships. In my city, we have about six major dealers. All six sell different brands such as Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen. If one brand is not selling another one is. This serves to keep them profitable.

[consciousnes]

You and I have to balance our budgits, why don''t big corporations have to balance their''s. And I don''t mean just on paper.

[nathan8804-2009]

Buckscc wrote:

I have been living on a salary in the mid $20,000 for years with no problems.
Why should I spend my money bailing out self centered over paid people who wouldn''''t even give me the time of day.

Buckscc:

Your a looser if you have been living on 20 grad for years as you say. That is what a full-time McDonald''s wager makes. There are plenty of jobs paying over 20 grad that are not UAW. Why don''t you try bettering your self with one. BTY someone making 20 grad pays no federal taxes so you need not worry where your money goes. I am sure you get every penny back at years end if not more.

[cheetah-man7]

Your a looser if you have been living on 20 grad for years as you say. That is what a full-time McDonald''''s wager makes. There are plenty of jobs paying over 20 grad that are not UAW. Why don''''t you try bettering your self with one. BTY someone making 20 grad pays no federal taxes so you need not worry where your money goes. I am sure you get every penny back at years end if not more.


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Posted by nathan8804 --------------

Sad commentary from someone whith such horrible grammer and spelling mistakes!

[txgrouch2007]

Sad commentary from someone whith such horrible grammer and spelling mistakes!
Posted by cheetah-man7 at 10:20 AM : Nov 20, 2008

I noticed that, too. Spelling alone is atrocious.

My hat is off to someone who is living on 20K a year. I know how to do that, but some wives don''t warm up to that kind of living. You know what I mean?

[txgrouch2007]

THE DAY OF RECKONING IS HERE AND THEY DONT HAVE A CLUE AS WHAT TO DO.
Posted by tootall1014 at 09:51 AM : Nov 20, 2008

Words of true wisdom. The day of reckoning has arrived for A LOT of our institutions, all at the same time.

Perot warned about the "giant sucking sound" of jobs leaving the country.

Now this is the "giant flapping sound" of CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST.

[txgrouch2007]

Sheesh what a loser he is. A lot of days this year I have made $20K already.
Posted by mrs_premise at 10:25 AM : Nov 20, 2008

Up yours.

A few years from now, you''ll be BEGGING for someone to tell you how to live this thrifty. Some of us know, so we''re prepared for the hard times ahead.

You''re not.

[sepa2]

Perot warned about the "giant sucking sound" of jobs leaving the country.
Now this is the "giant flapping sound" of CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST.
Posted by txgrouch2007
Thank Reagonomics too. Carter in his energy proposals in 1979 encouraged fuel economy for autos. Reagan and the American public had none of those. They celebrate big vehicles, we had some fun times (like crab in the pot). Now our children are going to pay for our excesses and selfishness.

[txgrouch2007]

They celebrate big vehicles, we had some fun times (like crab in the pot).
Posted by sepa2 at 10:32 AM : Nov 20, 2008

Clinton had EIGHT YEARS to correct whatever you think Reagan did wrong. How many Hummers were on the road during the Clinton years?

How many alternaive energy sources were developed durin the Clinton years? Instead the money went to build baseball stadiums with steam locomotives on top. Just like a Baby Boomer''s play set.

It''s pathetic enough that you go back 20 years to blame Reagan. It''s even MORE pathetic that you "forget" about the EIGHT YEARS OF CLINTON in between.

[westmichiga2]

I work for a Automotive supplier and like many are very worried about what is going on in Detroit.
The big 3 have been wasting money for many years and now it is catching up with them.
Unions are a big part of the collaps and also deserve much of the blame.
Cars which are very poor in gas milage,over priced and over payed workers including upper management is to blame.
For many years they have been abusing suppliers and sponging off of them to help cover their mis management to the point that they are about to take many of them to bank ruptcy with them.
Living in Michigan is a tough thing these days and even though this decision greatly effects me and my family I agree that giving them free funds by the tax payers is not the answer only a band aid due to the fact the mis management will most likely continue and see us right back in the same situation in a year.

[txgrouch2007]

I''ve noticed a remarkable increase of INTELLIGENT posts among the usual partisan troll spew.

Sounds like the bad economy is putting more WISE SOULS out of work, so they have more time to post their wisdom on the Internet.

I expect to see more and more wisdom in these discussions, as a sign of our HARD TIMES.

[txgrouch2007]

giving them free funds by the tax payers is not the answer only a band aid due to the fact the mis management will most likely continue and see us right back in the same situation in a year.
Posted by WestMichiga2 at 10:40 AM : Nov 20, 2008

Japanese car makers have been getting this "band aid" FOR YEARS from their government.

That''s why Toyota isn''t running out of cash next year.

Globalization has brought Japanese style economic policy to our government. The government is also dabbling in Soviet-style nationaliztion of businesses, every time one of these "rescue" plans includes a government stake in ownership of the businesses they are "bailing out."

[zykracosmos]

A few years from now, you''''ll be BEGGING for someone to tell you how to live this thrifty. Some of us know, so we''''re prepared for the hard times ahead...

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Posted by txgrouch2007 at 10:29 AM : Nov 20, 2008

[craigh9]

The first thing the Big 3 should do is cut management. I have a friend that is HUGE in auto sales with dozens of dealerships. He has delat with the Big 3 for many years. He no longer looks to buy dealerships selling their products because they are impossible to deal with. They have so many layers of management it completes stagnates the process. When he deals with Hyundai, Kia, etc. he picks up the phone and talks to DECISION MAKERS. That''s why they make money.
The Big 3 need to shed at least 25% of management positions and reduce upper management pay by a minimum of 35%. That coupled with a 20% reduction in labor costs would go a long way to making them viable again.

[hologram5]

Markets starting to price in auto bankruptcy now. DOW crashing again. Thanks liberals!


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Posted by mrs_premise at 10:24 AM : Nov 20, 2008
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What idiotic drivel, you can thank the CEO getting million dollar bonus'' and payouts. Ron Paul as well as many people that you would call "liberals" have been warning about this for years but due to idiots not listening to them or calling them names and pushing them away, now here we are. We made this bed, TIME TO LIE IN IT... We elected the politicians that let this happen, point your finger at your own elects.

[zykracosmos]

TXGrouch, I disagree with most of your postings, especially your extreme partisanship, but I do agree with your assessment that those who have already experience hardship will have the most success in becoming not just frugal, but perhaps survivalists. The people who will be thrown into a state of shock in the coming six months will be folks who have been purchasing the I-phones on high interest credit cards, while not saving any money and living month-to-month. This is the time to postpone any major expenditures you don''t absolutely need to make (new car, new appliances... you get the picture). A lot of people who THINK they are immune to what''s going on around them right now are going to get a wake-up call soon. This "recession" is not just American- it''s global, and it will get deeper. There will be a lot of desperate people around the world, and you will meet many of them. Be compassionate where you can, and protect yourself from those who would try to steal what you have left. Lots of folks are going to drop the expensive packaged food and go back to bulk staples. Just watch. Lots of potatos and rice bought in big sacks. Lots of canned vegetables stored on the shelf.

[flyboyozw]

The first thing the Big 3 should do is cut management.

Agreed! The second thing is to get rid of the UAW!

[zykracosmos]

dont have to. I have lots of money.

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Posted by mrs_premise at 10:51 AM : Nov 20, 2008
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Piece of friendly advice, Mrs Premise... don''t flaunt it. Not a lot of folks are going to feel entertained watching the Paris Hiltons flit around while they are wondering how to feed and clothe their children.

[armandbeni]

Congress once again is putting their vacation schedule ahead of the interests of the American People. Deadlocked on important issues, they will leave Washington and let the chips fall where they may. Congress'' priorities are simple:
1. what''s good for themselves, what''s good for they''re friends 3. lining their pockets 4 taking lots of vacations (preferably at taxpayer expence) 5 getting re-elected. 6. Keeping the system exactly as it is. Notice, I didn''t mention anything about doing something constructive for the American people, that obviously isn''t a priority.

[craigh9]

The first thing the Big 3 should do is cut management.

Agreed! The second thing is to get rid of the UAW!


Posted by flyboyozw at 10:59 AM : Nov 20, 2008

Yes, the UAW and it''s members own a significant portion of the difficulties facing the industry and changes have to occur. I don''t believe elimination of the UAW is necessary - just a return to what they are really suppose to do - represent their members to assure fair treatment and a reasonable wage. They allowed simple greed to override those principles resulting in the current killing of the golden goose.

[hologram5]

dont have to. I have lots of money.

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Posted by mrs_premise at 10:51 AM : Nov 20, 2008
------------

Piece of friendly advice, Mrs Premise... don''''t flaunt it. Not a lot of folks are going to feel entertained watching the Paris Hiltons flit around while they are wondering how to feed and clothe their children.
------------------------------------------
And when deflation kicks in and they devalue the dollar and change to another currency, you''ll not have lots then will you???

[zykracosmos]

...get rid of the UAW!


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Posted by flyboyozw at 10:59 AM : Nov 20, 2008
------------
you got to remember why the UAW came about in the first place. There were no government protections for workers in this country, child labor (like in China) was common, and big companies exploited their workforce with impunity. If you are going to get rid of unions, then you are defacto requiring much more government regulation. Corporations have only one purpose- to make money, and public companies have to maximize profits to keep shareholders from jumping ship. It is stupid to think that Big Business has any need or requirement to build a better lifestyle for Americans, either for their workers or their consumers. It''s all about profit maximization. This fatal flaw of unrestricted capitalism is the reason we are where we are today. Greenspan mistakenly thought banks, the most "conservative" businesses, would restrain themselves from risky investments and loans, rather than overreach for profits. He was wrong. Don''t try to make a corporation into a personality. It is a money-making machine that must be regulated for our national and global economic structure to be sustainable.

[credibility2]

To show they meant business while begging for billions, the CEOs of the so-called "big-3" could''ve started by sharing one luxury jet, instead of three, and foregoing their millions in compensation. They could''ve also cut out any planned bonuses for executive management. There''s a lot of fat that can be cut, especially at the top of each of these companies. They should also close down unnecessary and redundant dealerships and dramatically limit the number of models offered. And although a tough pill to swallow, the UAW is going to have to cut more and renegotiate harder so they''re competitive. All of the jobs are at stake and not just those on the assembly line. It''s time the three got real and stop living in the decade''s earlier mentality.

[zykracosmos]

You know what''s disappointing is that if we ever did have any hope of having enough money to rebuild our road & bridge infrastructure, health care and education systems, and even pursue new scientific discoveries in the universe, we certainloy don''t have it now- while most people are hurting financially, the legislators have just laid another trillion dollars of debt on us (with the billions in interest that go with us) to bail out corporations that are still shucking out multi-million dollar bonuses to the very executives that caused this financial turmoil. They folks should be fired first and foremost, and be happy they weren''t tarred and feathered on the sidewalk as they were kicked out the door. The idea of using tax-payer dollars (on loan from China) to pay these thieves, because "we don''t want to lose the brightest minds in business" is the stupidest, craziest rationale I have ever heard. Put these corporate pigs in a situation where they have to sell their belongings to survive, and then put them back in their lofty possessions strictly on merit pay (no bonuses for bankruptcy). Why is that so hard for Bush, Obama, and Congress to understand?

[mr_man_2012]

Unions are soooo 19th and 20th centry!!! Let the Big 3 go bankrupt and go to China and get "RETOOLED" for the 21st Century!!! Goodbye UAW and their Union Bosses!!!

[lewiston14]

I have always found it interesting that big companys needs 8 bosses for every real worker. The one I worked for went from ~119,000 to less then 10,000 today. They no longer make anything themselfs but rather put their lable on somebodys elses products (not from this country naturally)I almost got in trouble with the law as it became a hobby to call or email these big bad bosses that made my life miserable just to ask them how it felt on the other side for a change. They hated that. So where you going to get you new job boss man. There arnt any around here.

[zykracosmos]

Back to the UAW. The unions of this country haven''t had any real power in many years. Democrats have had the bleeding-heart approach to illegal immigrants for years, and Republicans were savvy enough to realize that more cheap labor flooding in would ultimately break the power of unions. All the big union labor corporations from 50 years ago have been steadily exporting jobs to assembly plants in Mexico and elsewhere, and entire industries, such as textiles, are completely gone! Give you a dollar if you can find a shirt that was made in the U.S.A. The "free trade" agreements that were meant to open foreign markets for the biggest of our big corporations have produced, as Ross Perot liked to say, that "big sucking sound" of jobs leaving the country. Pay for skilled and unskilled labor is going to plummet, and just forget about heath care and other benefits. Only the super elite will be able to afford all of the supposedly revolutionary breakthroughs in medical treatments that we are told are coming online today. The middle class is going away. You will have only the lower class, with heavy cellar in pure poverty, and the ultra rich, who have managed to hold onto wealth as the elite corporate businessmen and property owners. It will be too dangerous for them to even be seen in public, facing the wrath of the rest of the population.

[gop_will_win]

Piece of friendly advice, Mrs Premise... don''''t flaunt it. Not a lot of folks are going to feel entertained watching the Paris Hiltons flit around while they are wondering how to feed and clothe their children.


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Posted by ZykraCosmos
=====================
Sure they will. Its escapism.

[libsh8theusa]

nice to see the Fat cats got to the hearing in style.. then say they are BROKE..

[doctxt]

EQUATION OF THE DAY:
FED LENDS OUR $ TO BANKS FOR 1% (PLUS) WE BORROW FROM BANKS @ 10 TO 20% (PLUS) 8% TAXES (EQUALS) WE FOREVER LOSE (PLUS) FED & BANKS WIN (MINUS) TRUTH (EQUALS) DEPRESSION (TIMES) MORE LIES (EQUALS) POLITICIANS (PLUS) INVESTORS (DIVIDED BY) GREED (MINUS) LAW (MINUS) GOD (EQUALS) REVOLUTION!!!

EQUATION EXPLAINED:
10 YEARS AGO-ALL OVER THE NEWS-"PEOPLE HAD TO CHOOSE-MORTGAGE PAYMENTS OR GAS FOR CARS". THEY CHOSE GAS-THE MORTGAGE INDUSRTY CRUMBLED-FED SAYS SOME FAULTY PAPER AGREEMENT BETWEEN BANKS AND INVESTORS CAUSED IT-WHEN HIGHLY PAID FEDERAL ECONOMIC GURUS LOOKED THE OTHER WAY-OIL COMPANIES REAPED $60 TO $80 MILLION A YEAR (TIMES) 10 YEARS = $800 MILLION (ONE COMPANY ALONE)-NO WONDER THE %u201CFAILOUT PLAN%u201D IS NOT ENOUGH%u2026 FORESIGHT AS GOOD AS HINDSIGHT-WHATEVER IT IS, THE PEOPLE MUST NOW PAY FOR IT.

FAILOUT PLAN IS TO BAIL OUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO BOUGHT AMERICAN SOIL VIA FANNIE AND FREDDIE-THEY GOT BAILED OUT FIRST TO COVER TRACKS, PLAN NOT WORKING FOR ANYONE ELSE. AFTER GOV%u2019T APPROVAL & MAE, MAC BAILOUT - GURUS CHANGE- WANT TO INVEST IN BANKS INSTEAD OF HELPING PEOPLE-NOW GURUS ADMIT ECONOMY IS IN A SLOWDOWN.

PRICE OF OIL COMES BACK DOWN, CONSUMPTION NEVER CHANGED.

ABORTION IS OK, BUT THE BILL IS ON FUTURE GENERATIONS THAT WILL BE KILLED, AND THEY ROB THE RETIREMENT EGGS OF US ALL.

THIS IS WHY WE HAVE AN ELECTORAL REVOLUTION-PEOPLE WANT CHANGE-IT WILL NOT COME FROM POLITICIANS.

THIS IS A BALANCED BUDGET-FOR THE GREEDY

[khalif-obama]

The UAW was a good idea that outlived its usefulness. The difference between a Toyota plant and a GM plant''s profitability is the ancillary costs that the union piles on top of the already high costs of operating in the U.S. and paying U.S. salaries.
We have the know-how. Just look at the Opel/Vauxhall Astra... 62.5 MPG average!!! This is not an expensive hybrid but a $15K clean burning Diesel! Ford also makes cars that they are not bringing here... Look at the Ford Ka. Chrysler actually builds cars here in the U.S. that we can''t get our hands on... Diesels that get sold abroad.
Lets pressure congress to also get the EPA and DOT off the backs of the U.S. auto industry and give them a free pass on vehicles that exceed 50 MPG and are already sold in Europe. We''ll half our foreign oil thirst in a matter of years, not decades.

[khalif-obama]

The UAW was a good idea that outlived its usefulness. The difference between a Toyota plant and a GM plant''s profitability is the ancillary costs that the union piles on top of the already high costs of operating in the U.S. and paying U.S. salaries.
We have the know-how. Just look at the GM Europe Opel/Vauxhall Astra... 62.5 MPG average!!! This is not an expensive hybrid but a $15K clean burning Diesel! Ford also makes cars that they are not bringing here... Look at the Ford Ka. Chrysler actually builds cars here in the U.S. that we can''t get our hands on... Diesels that get sold abroad.
Lets pressure congress to also get the EPA and DOT off the backs of the U.S. auto industry and give them a free pass on vehicles that exceed 50 MPG and are already sold in Europe. We''d half our foreign oil thirst in a matter of years, not decades.

[element51]

Not wanting to see working folks thrown under the bus, I was somewhat in favor of giving the money to the big three. But after watching the hearings on C-SPAN I no longer support a bail out. The CEOs that testified were arrogant and showed me that they were more concerned for their best interest than for America''s. The simple fact that they had to each fly in using their corporate jets says a lot. Let them file chapter 11 and then bring in people who can produce cars that Americans will buy. And one other thing, mrs_premise, yours was one of the most arrogant posts that I have ever seen. You demonstrate what is worst in America. I would wager that you would **** on a fellow human being before you would offer them a hand. I''m glad that you have money but be careful because you may not always be so lucky. Remember, what goes up can always come down.

It''s so easy to say let them die isn''t it? When you%u2019re in your comfortable job.

It''s easy to turn a bridge loan (unavailable on the open market due to financial collapse) into a BAILOUT.

It''s easy to cry foul because they flew into town with their own jets (even though these are charted on a long term basis and pre-paid)

It''s easy to say Bankruptcy when a bridge loan might just fix it. It''s really easy to say when you''re not doing it.

It''s easy to throw away possibly 3 million jobs when it''s not yours.

It''s easy to forget that with a bankruptcy dealers, suppliers, sub suppliers, surrounding business, banks (yes banks) may not be paid increasing the stress on the FED and banks.

It''s so easy to say let it all go.

What''s not so easy when the store these employees use shutter their doors, the restaurant closes, the towns tax base (yes they pie taxes, lots of taxes)disappear, when that money stops flowing through the economy.

It''s so easy to say no but so easy to say yes to throw money at a bank to save it''s behind.

Yes it''s all very easy when it appears to not be your job or company. But the ripples from this, if it happens, just may affect your job and your community in ways you never considered.

Yes, it%u2019s all easy until possible ripples from this affect the ability to produce wheeled military equipment needs as replacements during and after Iraq.

The shock to the economy might be shaken off, but it could bring down the weakened economy more.

[supercan-2009]

I just read a report that if GM can not get the bailout they say they need-then they will have to raise the unit prices of their vehicles that they offer to us! Am I missing something?? No wonder that I will never be a FAT CAT

[hitoyou1]

The head of the no good UAW is on TV telling one lie after another. LIE LIE LIE, Shut them down and take the UAW down. All they do is LIE LIE LIE. Crooks crooks crooks. That is all the UAW is. The back bone, of junk, Not the back bone of the U.S.A.

The CEOs that testified were arrogant and showed me that they were more concerned for their best interest than for America''''s.

Posted by Element51 at 12:00 PM : Nov 20, 2008


Ask Howard Hughes how he handled it or Tucker.

Arrogant? How about the people asking the questions?

How did they fly into DC, what size home do they have in DC, who''s lobbyist pocket are they in, what are THEY willing to do, how will they cut back, will they buy a car like a smart that gets 45 to 50 mpg, will any of you?

Why did these CEO''s have to answer the tough and stupid questions when the banks got a "Here ya go boys" even if the didn''t want the money?

Arrogant? Know what''s arrogant? Letting American jobs and industry fade away.

[afmca]

I say ... Do Not Let Them Die BUT I would also say Extract a Heavy Price for the Loan! The executives are incompetent. They should have been restructuring decades ago, but they were lazy. They worried about their compensation more than the long term viability of their companies.

Their products need to be made better, the lousy models need to be dumped; the brands need to be consolidated, the manufacturing process needs to be updated, union contracts need to be restructured to emphasize work and not just a job, and finally executive compensation must be based on real results not fiction.

Without these I hate to say that no loans should be forth coming.

[evian_ycnan]

Hi, I`m Sally Struthers and for just $3,000,000 a day, you can keep a poor GM vice president from losing his private jet... Won`t you help?

The head of the no good UAW is on TV telling one lie after another.

Posted by Hitoyou1 at 12:09 PM : Nov 20, 2008

Exactly what lies is he telling?

[craigh9]

Political games - why don''t you actually manage your business instead of trying to manage public opinion.

One more nail in the automotive industry coffin as far as I''m concerned. Take your multi-million dollar salaries, your multi-million dollar bonuses for destroying your companies, stick them in your private corporate jets, and stick them where the sun don''t shine.
Greedy incompetent butt heads - NOT A DIME!!!

[doctxt]

EQUATION OF THE DAY:
FED LENDS OUR $ TO BANKS FOR 1% (PLUS) WE BORROW FROM BANKS @ 10 TO 20% (PLUS) 8% TAXES (EQUALS) WE FOREVER LOSE (PLUS) FED & BANKS WIN (MINUS) TRUTH (EQUALS) DEPRESSION (TIMES) MORE LIES (EQUALS) POLITICIANS (PLUS) INVESTORS (DIVIDED BY) GREED (MINUS) LAW (MINUS) GOD (EQUALS) REVOLUTION!!!

EQUATION EXPLAINED:
10 YEARS AGO-ALL OVER THE NEWS-"PEOPLE HAD TO CHOOSE-MORTGAGE PAYMENTS OR GAS FOR CARS". THEY CHOSE GAS-THE MORTGAGE INDUSRTY CRUMBLED-FED SAYS SOME FAULTY PAPER AGREEMENT BETWEEN BANKS AND INVESTORS CAUSED IT-WHEN HIGHLY PAID FEDERAL ECONOMIC GURUS LOOKED THE OTHER WAY-OIL COMPANIES REAPED $60 TO $80 MILLION A YEAR (TIMES) 10 YEARS = $800 MILLION (ONE COMPANY ALONE)-NO WONDER THE %u201CFAILOUT PLAN%u201D IS NOT ENOUGH%u2026 FORESIGHT AS GOOD AS HINDSIGHT-WHATEVER IT IS, THE PEOPLE MUST NOW PAY FOR IT.

FAILOUT PLAN IS TO BAIL OUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO BOUGHT AMERICAN SOIL VIA FANNIE AND FREDDIE-THEY GOT BAILED OUT FIRST TO COVER TRACKS, PLAN NOT WORKING FOR ANYONE ELSE. AFTER GOV%u2019T APPROVAL & MAE, MAC BAILOUT - GURUS CHANGE- WANT TO INVEST IN BANKS INSTEAD OF HELPING PEOPLE-NOW GURUS ADMIT ECONOMY IS IN A SLOWDOWN.

PRICE OF OIL COMES BACK DOWN, CONSUMPTION NEVER CHANGED.

ABORTION IS OK, BUT THE BILL IS ON FUTURE GENERATIONS THAT WILL BE KILLED, AND THEY ROB THE RETIREMENT EGGS OF US ALL.

THIS IS WHY WE HAVE AN ELECTORAL REVOLUTION-PEOPLE WANT CHANGE-IT WILL NOT COME FROM POLITICIANS.

THIS IS A BALANCED BUDGET-FOR THE GREEDY!

[evian_ycnan]

George Bush publishes first book -- "Journey to the Center of the 3rd World"

[incog-nito]

Maybe the Big 3 deserve to go bankrupt. Just keep this in mind: Some people think that they will rise up better than before. That won''t happen. It''s more likely they will be bought up for pennies on the dollar by foreign automakers.

Others think it''s fine as long as foreign automakers build factories here. Well it''s more likely that without domestic competition, those foreign automakers will pick up move their plants somewhere where labor is cheaper. The reason they''re here is part political, part marketing: Americans are more apt to buy foreign if they think that at least some of the money stays home. Without domestic competition there is no reason for them to stick around and pay higher labor costs.

Still others think that it''s OK as long as we get better quality cars. This is reasonable. Just keep in mind that with the millions of lost jobs, many Americans will not likely to be able to buy much of anything.

Any way you look at it, the Big 3 are in big trouble, and there is no easy way out of it.

They should have been restructuring decades ago, but they were lazy.

Posted by afmca at 12:11 PM : Nov 20, 2008


Creation of Saturn
Selling of Hughes
Automation of plants
Cancellation of a brand
Closing plants
Modernizing plants
Following the market that allowed them to be profitable
Devlopment of European and China markets
Retianing (even now) number one status in total vehicle production. Toyota might make it this year
Spin off of Delphi and associated costs
Settlement of Delphi costs
Spin off of the retirement costs to the UAW
On par or higher productivity by plant survey by JD Power
Job cutbacks
Plant closing
Sell off of GMAC
Reduction in fleet sales (after listening to owners squak it reduces resale)
Supplier changes and cost reductions

Yep, your right they were just sitting on their *** doing nothing.

[observantx]

Gee, that''s effective, spending more of the money they need to run the business on a PR campaign.

What''s wrong with these executives forgoing their salaries for a year? They should have plenty of cash in the bank after collecting big bucks for years.

What''s wrong with the union taking a cut also?

What''s wrong with cutting the fat out of the layers of management? There''s probably 4 bosses for every employee.

What''s wrong with bringing some of the more efficient cars made for Europe over here?