The Next Bailout: Detroit

i was born in southfield michigan, raised in royal oak before the rich people came into the city in 1991.

The big 3 jobs went offshore, Bush gave them a hugh tax cut (top 1% of the richest got that cut)
So let them fail and see the CHINESE PEOPLE lost their jobs cuz the big 3 jobs arent in detroit anymore, Mr Mad5577

The tax payers that will flip the bill recieves NOTHING from the auto industry (unless they are employees). Only if the auto-makers compleatly pull out of forign countries, and stop exploiting their labor for profit should we the people even concider helping them. GREED GREED GREED, bring the jobs back home, and bring the pay scale down to reflect reality so a profit can be made, and lower the prices so more can be sold. There is a lot that the auto-makers should do befor asking for a hand out from tax payers that will NEVER get a thing back out of . The bottom line is they want to take from all of us to benifet a few. I'm sure Japan will beat them on fuel ecomoney anyway so why wast the time or money.

I am simply amazed reading these comments as well as this article about how single minded you all are. Being Michigan born and raised, let me tell you when we talk about the 'Big Three' what isn't being said is a whole state dependent on that product. Suppliers, Fabrication....it all ties back to the Auto Industry. So you want to be a boorish moron, forget about Michigan. What about all the steel that the American Auto Industry uses? Just open your eyes for a moment and you realize that the government isn't just bailing out Detroit but a significant part of the US economy.

While I'm not a fan of bailing out any company which consistently makes bad decisions - it seems Detroit's bad decisions are just easier to see as dependence on SUV's etc are an easy target - instead of one trying to wrap their head around credit default swaps and mortgage backed securities. In the end, Detroit is somehow less pathetic than Wall Street since they were just following the market - they built more and more gas-guzzlers b/c the American public kept buying them - what would you do as a company owner with a hot product? change it to an lower profit margin one and less interest. WS invented new complex products that even they couldn't understand and we're all paying for it...Too late now - the Fed has embarked to rescue the banks - the loan to the automakers isn't even the interest payment on what the gov't will do for their buddies on WS. Sham.

While I'm not a fan of bailing out any company which consistently makes bad decisions - it seems Detroit's bad decisions are just easier to see as dependence on SUV's etc are an easy target - instead of one trying to wrap their head around credit default swaps and mortgage backed securities. In the end, Detroit is somehow less pathetic than Wall Street since they were just following the market - they built more and more gas-guzzlers b/c the American public kept buying them - what would you do as a company owner with a hot product? change it to an lower profit margin one and less interest. WS invented new complex products that even they couldn't understand and we're all paying for it...Too late now - the Fed has embarked to rescue the banks - the loan to the automakers isn't even the interest payment on what the gov't will do for their buddies on WS. Sham.

After reading these commets, Wow.
How about this we the people stay at home and let the goverment work for us. There should be enough people in washington that should be able to turn a wrench or something. Let them work 6 or 7 days a week to make ends meet and let them ask about a bail out.

Funny how things work out. America, the land of extreme everything. Always wanting more and bigger. (since when did we need 380hp in a daily driver?) The companies like Honda which always have focused on smaller cars with decent fuel economy, which by the way doesn't produce anything "fullsize" by American standards, isn't really feeling much of the same stresses. Subaru is doing fine, Honda, Toyota, well.....basically all the more conservative companies. So I don't feel bad about the "Big Three" having a hard time. Maybe next time they should take a more conservative approach to things. My 2 cents.

Response to Scobman; Where were you educated? The 2nd amendment is NOT a God given right, it is a constitutional right. The times were completely different then, than now. The only thing God gives as a "right" is free will. We do with it what we want to. If Gov. Ventura said what you say he did, He is completly wrong.
Yes, the government can take away a right or restrict it. It is called an amendment to the constitution/Bill of rights. Where do you get these lame brain ideas/information. Unfortunetly, a lot of people think the way you do, WRONG!!

Amen dug771. It is not too late to wake up in this country. VOTE ALL THE BUMS OUT!!!!

This is real WELFARE.

This is the real WELFARE

Detroit still doesn't get it. The new Chevy Volt looks like a futuristic sports car, not a mass appeal method of transportation. Toyota and Honda have made fortunes and taken over the auto industry by mastering the boring, safe, efficient and highly reliable compact and family sedan market with their Civc, Corolla, Accord and Camry models. These are the bread and butter of profitable auto companies in the same way that Disney and Pixar movies are the bread and butter of the movie industry.

when the gov does bail them out, remember the usa gov is all puppets for the NEW WORLD ORDER.

You called it a conspiracy yesterday, now maybe today you figure it out and wake up its the truth and 911 was the foundational event to start all this turmoil.

110 story buildings collasping at free fall speed, its impossible according to the laws of gravity but you believe the gov story when all they do is lie to you about everything.
WAKE UP now, you've had enough sleep, the dreams are over and now its time to see reality the way it really is people.

Where has Detroit been for the last thirty years? They have been turning out junk cars that generally fell apart before the payment book was finished. They have had no concern for the American auto buyer and that is why so many have turned to imported cars. These cars have a history of reliability - a reliability that does not exist in most American cars. Yes, recently Detroit's product has improved, but too little - too late. They have continued to build huge SUV's, gas guzzling trucks, and cars that in no way meet the quality of most foreign imports. And through all of this, CEO's have been making millions of dollars but not giving a damn for car buyers' needs. So, NO, there should be no government bailout for Detroit. Let them learn their lesson the hard way. Perhaps if their cars were better, they could win back American car buyers.

Cheap money, due to bad (Federal Reserve) monetary policy and bad (Congress) fiscal policy. Result: Over-priced, over-leveraged, and over-sized homes for people living (with their credit cards and home equity loans) beyond their means and, now, Wall Street bailouts for the house of cards we now see was just under-capitalized, leverage-drunk financial institutions living life just like the rest of us.

Cheap energy and cheap money, again due to bad government policy. Result: Over-priced, over-leveraged (or leased), and over-sized cars cars for an over-weight American population. (FYI: The domestic auto manufacturers have built small cars with good gas mileage for years to satisfy existing CAFE standards ??? and no one bought them!)

Distorted labor markets, between the public sector and private sector, and between union States and ???right to work??? States ... and cheap money, again due to bad government policy, allowing bloated public sector budgets based on debt. Result: Bloated public sector or manufacturing economy staffing levels and benefits that result in significant inequities between ... if you can believe it ... members of the same economic class.

Cheap money, due to bad (Federal Reserve) monetary policy and bad (Congress) fiscal policy. Result: Over-priced, over-leveraged, and over-sized homes for people living (with their credit cards and home equity loans) beyond their means and, now, Wall Street bailouts for the house of cards we now see was just under-capitalized, leverage-drunk financial institutions living life just like the rest of us.

Cheap energy and cheap money, again due to bad government policy. Result: Over-priced, over-leveraged (or leased), and over-sized cars for an over-weight American population. (FYI: The domestic auto manufacturers have built small cars with good gas mileage for years to satisfy existing CAFE standards ??? and no one bought them!)

Distorted labor markets, between the public sector and private sector, and between union States and ???right to work??? States ... and cheap money, again due to bad government policy, allowing bloated public sector budgets based on debt. Result: Bloated public sector or manufacturing economy staffing levels and benefits that result in significant inequities between ... if you can believe it ... members of the same economic class.

Let's stop pointing fingers at people in different industries, different States, different economic classes, or different political parties. We have met the enemy ... and it is us. We should all grow up and stop expecting Congress ... or anyone in Washington for that matter ... from understanding these fundamentals, let alone developing solutions for them. As a nation, our obsession with gaining the most stuff with borrowed money is the root cause of all of the symptoms. Pitting ???Detroit??? against ???Wall Street??? in a race for bailout money is a fool???s choice. Let???s pray that leadership emerges that will speak these t

the automakers mismanaged for a long time. Suggest each car maker
produxes only 3 model cars, small medium and large with 3 and 4 cyl.
Fuel Saving engines. The same for pickup trucks

ronjj

It isnt government money.
Its the tax payers money we havent even earned yet from the jobs we dont have anymore.