Automaker Bailout?

[mudseeker]

so should they?

i vote yes.

i live in michigan, our economy depends on the jobs from the auto industry. do i agree with how they managed their money? no, but you have to look at the big picture. if they go under, who is it going to hurt more? us or the CEO's?

i come from a long line of GM plant workers. my grandpa, who moved up here from arkansas to support his family, my uncle's, father and brother. if they let them go under, it will affect more than just the current workers. what about the pensions of those that worked hard most of their life? are they supposed to go out at the age of 70-80 and find another job? this country would go in to a depression if the auto companies went down. not only would they close but the jobs of all the suppliers would be lost.

i would like to add one more thing to my post. if the companies go under, what happens to the heath care for all the retirees? my mom has been battleing health problems since 1992, if they lost their health benifits i would hate to think about how they would afford the medical bills.

[FaselZ71]

I couldn't agree more!!! I lost my last job because the company went under it was riduculous!!! I know so many people who depend on the auto industry to survive and personally I think the auto industry needs all the help they can get!

[stumpuller454]

kind of unrelated (my appologies) i saw an ad at a dodge delership in florida were if you buy one 08 dodge quad cab for 32,000 you get a free reg cab 08 dodge pickup!

WOW, but yeah its still a dodge! LOL what a deal!

I also heard of a deal at another dodge dealer were they will sell you a pacifica for msrp and give you a pt cruiser for a buck!

[FaselZ71]

Yeah I'm not sure how often you'll see those deals anymore but it's partially the dealships choice as well because giving away a car means less comission. We have a dealship here in town that says buy any kia get a rio for free! But the rio you get for free is below a base line car no A/C no tilt steering no power steering no atuo locks or windows no tape deck or cd just am fm no factory hubcaps even just the little 14" rims smalles motor that they make minimal everything! The dodges you saw probably had no radio and a 4 banger under the hood. Oh yeah and the free kia's didn't even come with spare tires or jacks trust my I checked one out!

[bradrhale]

whe companies lost money due to sales and increase costs. how is this the responsibility of the government to rescue them?? i knew this was wrong from the moment they talked about bailing banking institutions out. cant give a bank money and not automaker. like i have always said, keep the government out of corporate america. if the big 3 are hurting, than they need to adapt to the situation and find a way out. if you had a business and you were hurting because of this crunch, do you think that you would get anything?? how come toyota is not as bad off as the others. maybe chevy and ford need to take some pointers from them.
i understand that you are concerned about benefits but you are attacking the wrong people. you need to look into the healtcare market and say your piece to them. hospitals and insurance are why it costs so much now. 125 for a flu shot is ridiculous. my wifes blood cholesterol meds is 100 a month. 25,000 to deliver a baby. come on now people. this has gotten past silly.
i think the government ought to have let the banks go bankrupt and the automakers do the same. teach all these moneygrabbers that my tax dollars will not bail you out of your own problems.

[FaselZ71]

Wow thank you brad. I never thought about it like that. Man I wish I was more involved in this whole politcal deal because I go off what seems obivious to me but I don't have enough knowledge to truely open my mouth and say a word.

[bradrhale]

i cant say that i am right or wrong so dont take it as a right or wrong side. politics is all a opinion type deal. do you like this idea or his/hers?? but some things to me dont make any sense and this is one of them. you want to do something constructive with my money?? start enforcing price gouging. dont let insurance agencies pay for procedures that are over inflated and then past the costs down to us. make it illegal for doctors to charge 150 for one 15 min visit. i know his overhead is high but again, why is it so high?? because his insurance is high. doctors insurance is out of this world. it is a never ending circle.

[FaselZ71]

Yeah I know it's all opinion. But my opinion ain't worth a handfull of corn because I don't know enough about what I'm talking about. I never knew about doctor's insurance.

[87c10slammer]

to be completly honest what i think needs to happen is for the automakers to stop making highend luxury cars and just go back the the basics... that is the ony way to cut cost in my eyes.. yeah we are gonna get poor qulity cars and have to fix them more ofter but who cares when we will be goin back to the early ford days when it was cheap for a car

[mudseeker]

i agree with your points brad, but why should the little people, like my parents suffer because a CEO was bad at balancing a check book?

do i think they should be bailed out? no, but they need to be, to keep the little people from falling. this country is soo messed up, it's not even funny, but if the government doesn't step in, i fear we will go into a depression we may not get out of. i saw this coming over 8 years ago when they laid my dad off who had 32 years in the company at the time. you know things are bad when they lay someone off with that many years.

everyone in the company got paid more than they were worth, my dad was no exception. honestly if it wasn't for the unions, i don't think we would be having this problem right now. do they really expect us to believe that putting a piston in a block is worth paying someone over $20/hr?

heck, i'd love to see the money hungry ******** sink, but not if it means the country will go down with them.