Detroit: Begging For Help

if Detroit wants help it should only be given if they stop building gasoline auto's

The answer to their plight is simple: Chapter 11. This is what every other business enterprise does when their management and union employees manage to run things into the ground. Chapter 11 will allow businesses to start over with new, competent management, a new and reasonable Union contract, and a write-down of existing debt.

Besides, what makes the auto industry so unique that American taxpayers must bail them all out? Where are we going to draw the line with these bailouts? And does anyone think for a moment that we are ever going to see any of the "loans" repaid? The Big 3's market share has been shrinking for the last 40 years, and they don't have any competitive product in the pipeline to generate the profits that will be needed to repay those loans. The money would be better spent paying their employees unemployment comp and retraining for other fields.

If we are going to subsidize the Big 3, we should simply nationalize them. Wipe-out all of the existing shareholders, fire the entire Board and officer ranks, and take it over lock, stock and barrel. Hire professional managers from the Japanese or German automotive industries, and give them carte blanche to eliminate Union contracts, and to set a long-term course to rebuild them into responsible and competitive business organizations.

I still remember the K-car commercials that Lee Iacocca did back in the '70s when he was drumming up business trying to save Chrysler after going hat in hand to the government for loans. He cut his pay to $1. Let's hope that Congress watches over taxpayer money when they dole out bailouts to the current crop of auto execs who pay themselves $5-$10 mill per year running their businesses into the ground.

The problem with Detroit is simply this: the greedy auto company managers over many years gave the unions all that they wanted in order to maintain profitability and avoid protracted labor strikes. When in some cases they couldn't avoid a strike over some issue, they then just priced the costs of those strikes into the already-inflated prices of the shoddy cars they sell, and made all of us pay for their excesses. It's just another case of another industry coming to the fat cash cow in Washington for it's place at the udder, and trying to do this before yet another industry beats them to it or the milk runs dry. To wit, as an example of the UAW's hubris, the UAW has said that their free lifetime medical benefits are never going to be on the negotaiting table---never! Well, my friends at the UAW, we now live in a different era where we should all have to share the costs of our benefits. Do they mean that we, the taxpayers must pay for the cost of the "poor" auto worker's employee benefits when many taxpayers have none at all? I consider myself lucky; as a white-collar worker in retirement: I have to pay about 75% of my medical premiums while my former employer pays an amount capped at Year 2000 levels! But I share in the costs as the alternative of no benefits or prohibitively expensive benefits would be far worse. Any bailout of Detroit ought to force partial or complete abrogation of union contracts so that those workers start sharing costs and are on the same footing as most taxpayers in this country.

WoW, actually is mistyped when I started and entered "SoS" - I guess in a way that sums it up. The auto industry wants billions to keep building the cars we don't need - their whole problem is that people don't want what they are building and can no longer to afford to drive what they already bought from Detroit. Sure, lets help them, but make them break their ties to "Big Oil" and re-tool to build cars that people can afford to buy and operate....!! Don't threated the country with massive job losses if GM is allowed to fail, in 2000 they were responsible for killing electric cars in California in favor of gas guzzling HUMMERs and Suburbans.

Hmmm, what good is a college degree? I will tell you. I personally grew up as a low income African American in a single family household. My mother had to raise 7 of us alone. I would collect cans on the side of the road to afford a bag of rice or box of corn flakes. I worked full time in high school. After a life of constant struggles and setbacks I managed to eventually earn an engineering degree. Let me tell you, my life totally changed after receiving my diploma and my first paycheck as an engineer. I went from being miserable to very happy in one day. Graduation day.

Ironhead, well, you're right in one respect, there was a college educated person that helped us get into this mess.......
His name is Bush, George Dubya Bush........but you can't let him represent all college educated people, after all, there are many high schoolers smarter than he is.

yes and where were all the educated people a few months back to see the broader picture of what now is like. guess they all had their heads stuck where the sun don't shine.

You obviously have missed the point. WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE. If you CHOOSE to work in a factory instead of going to college and earn a degree and EARN THE OPPORTUNITY to make a high salary, then that is a CHOICE that an individual has made for themselves.

You ask, "What good is a college degree?" That mentality breeds a nation of under-educated people and WE AS A COUNTRY will fall behind of innovation worldwide. An educated person would see the the broad picture and the longterm implications.

The working man has a choice to pick himself up by his suspenders and do something instead of looking for someone to blame. Honestly, I think the unions have lost sight of the big picture. They need re-focus their mission.

yes and what good is a college degree ? not much in my book. seems to me the people with the college degrees are the ones that have us in this fine big mess we're in now.

I suspected the very same thing when the government started bailing people out. Slippery slope, anyone?

The auto company and big oil have shelved or bought out any innovation in favor of huge Hummers and SUV's...Sorry they should not give one red cent dime more to the stupid people. This should have been done 10 years ago. Have a competition were the brightest develop the cars now and the government should fund them, not these bemoths

more retiirees then workers and pensioners living muchl.onger then expected puts tghe American auto companies on disastrous slide thatb can not be helped by printing upmore money. They need to have reorganization and bankruptcy protection. Unless you tax the foriegn automakers t substantially o support all those retirees,the system cann not continue in such an unequal way.

As long as Detroit's car makers are proud of what ever traditions they are holding steadfast continuing making unprofitable cars till the very end that do not appeal to the US masses or anybody for that matter, they will continue to loose money even with a bail-out. As long as Detroit car makers can still breathe make the change. Produce cars/vehicles that appeal to US and oversea consumers.