How to Bail Out General Motors

The government CANNOT build cars - they can barely even govern. Let Honda and Toyota buy the plants. They will hire Americans to build better cars in the old GM plants. Why are we even considering investing tax money into a company that obviously makes an inferior, over-priced product? This is insane! Stop wasting tax money!

I think that the federal government should get something in return for the 25 billion dollars it is suggested might give general motors a chance to stay afloat. But that would not solve any of the problems that have caused the deficit. The main problem is car sales are down for all U.S. auto makers. By some stories I researched the average sale price of an automobile in 2008 is somwhere between 25 and 30,000 dollars. By some quick calculating I figured that if the government were to buy 861,111 cars at the average price of $30,000, then 25 billion dollars in sales would be immediately felt. Then the government could recoup between 3 and 5 per cent of the loss by selling the cars for as little as $1000 and as much as $2000. on the market. But the government should only buy those autos that have an estimated gas mileage over 28 gpm to be reasonable. And the requirement for someone to buy the cars from the government is to show a bank loan for the amount. No cash deals should be accepted. That way the banks get some help in this situation too. Now you have nearly 1 million new U.S. cars out on the road instead of imports, the banks have over 861 million dollars in new loans that should be paid off in less than a year, the car manufacturers can keep their people working and it appears to be a win, win, win result. If the government includes Ford and Chrylser into the game, then the only group I see not winning are the imports.

I am SICK-TO-DEATH of hearing about the supposed cost of "overpaid" union labor. From what I understand, all of the prior union contracts were negotiated in good faith. No one forced GM or the UAW into these contracts. BUT, there is NO DOUBT that GM, as a publicly traded company, has failed miserably at planning for its and the country's future. ALL of their R&D money has been directed towards big heavy high power vehicles. The EV1 was KILLED even though it could have ben the country's FIRST fully electric vehicle. Too easy to fix and not enough maintenance needed. The owners of the EV1 would never have needed to see the dealer about expensive repairs and the need for a new car every 4 or five years would be moot. So you have the crappy GM of today. It's lots crowded with old technology cars that no one wants to buy. I say that ANY bailout MUST contain provisions for GM to remake itself into an efficient maker of practical cars that are cheap to run and maintain. Energy efficiency and quality must be baked in to any new corp. strategy.

The single largest cost in building a new car today is the labor cost. From the base pay to all of the benefits which the unions have procurred, labor workers have run themselves into the poor house. There are Americans that would work in these plants who would work for half of what union workers get. Even if the government bails them out right now, it is temporary until the inflated labor costs are arrested. Find the Interview with one lady begging for government bail out, who happened to be making 80k. She asks the interviewer where else will she find a job paying 80k when she doesn't have a high school diploma or college degree. Perhaps we have stumbled upon the problem. Under skilled, over paid. Seems a lot like redistribution of wealth. Way to go unions - bankrupt the auto industry.

Labor Unions are ineffective -- Wrong
Almost all the overseas car companies have bigger Unions
most are more unionized than the U.S.
what the diffence over seas any car getting lower than 30 mpg are taxed heavely the lower the mpg the higher the tax

Banckrupcy is the only answer. Politicians are stuck with UAW.
Paitriatism is not make us by US cars. QUALITY CARS.
# auto co. have to put money in R & D. Not to mkae muscle cars to rev up.

First you have to get rid of the expensive, ineffective labor unions. Make these car makers do the work of provididing benefits. It will be cheaper. Then force them to fire all top execs and find new GREEN people. Make no vehicle over 3500 pounds. Then, think about giving them assistance.

The American public has already spoken on their thoughts of a bailout of GM, Ford and Chrysler. We stopped buying their cars. A bailout will not change that. We still won't but those inferior products.

GM should bail itself out - by producing a high quality, fuel efficient product. If American auto companies can't compete, then they shouldn't be in the business to begin with. That's the basis for free enterprise isn't it?

This is all well and good, but sice the Republicans don't care about the auto industry, it's 3 million workers, or America in general...why would they go along with this. The GOP was happy to give 700 Billion to banks and insurance companies, many of whom contribute large sums of money to the GOP...but god forbid they would give a mere 25 billion to arguably the biggest and most iconic industries in America, and god forbid they would keep 3 million people from losing their jobs. The GOP view is simple....they haven't supported main-street America for 8 years....why start now.

Great party they got there. Thank god Obama does care and will help these hard working Americans statring in January.

Forget Chapter 11, however, WHAT you implement and HOW you do it is critical.

Here is the type of plan Congress should consider >

http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/11/solution-for-detroit-gm-friends.html

Trying something outside the box like this, is the only way to save the U.S. Auto Industry.

... it deserves saving.

It is probably too late for GM. GM's North American auto sales have come to a screeching halt in November thanks to their self-destructive, if unavoidable, announcement that the company is about to run out of money. Would you purchase a car from a company that might not be around to honor the warrantee or provide spare parts? Of course not.

It is probably too late for GM. GM's North American auto sales have come to a screeching halt in November thanks to their self-destructive, if unavoidable, announcement that the company is about to run out of money. Would you purchase a car from a company that might not be around to honor the warrantee or provide spare parts? Of course not.

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Millions of car buyers making millions of decisions over many years' time have already decided that these companies are dead. If you disagree, you simply have never owned owned one of the these true pieces of rolling junk. Car buyers, operating in the real world, have already refused to fund laughable pension benefits for unskilled labor.

Now, having been gulled by a liberal media, the public has just elected an adminstration that will, with certainty, quickly act to reverse the public's verdict on the BIg 3. The Democrats will thus attempt to reverse the decision the public has already made in the free market.

It is just as immoral and just as improper to bail out the greed of auto workers as it was to bail out real estate speculators who took out "liar loans" or to bail out those who made "ninja" loans.

Our government has no business trying to decide who the winners should be and who the losers should be. Right now, it is the American taxpayer who is the big loser here and, like the money already blown on TARP, any sums spent trying to save the Big 3 will be money down the drain.

Here's the question that I haven't heard anybody asking. At what point in time does the U.S. finally have too little manufacturing capacity? I'm guessing that many of the people who are saying "let them die" about the Big 3 have forgotten, or maybe never knew, that these companies were part of the backbone of our industrial production in World War II. GM, Ford, and Chrysler built or helped to build tanks, planes, Jeeps, and numerous other items of the military hardware that helped us defeat Facism.

I am afraid that the economic Darwinists who see things only from a standpoint of efficiency are willing to let our industrial capacity die in order to get cheaper products from China and elsewhere. But when we don't build anything in the U.S. anymore, we also won't have the capacity to defend ourselves.

I am all for putting reasonable conditions on any economic aid to the Big 3 or anybody else. Nobody should support a "bailout" that only has bankruptcy and closure of these companies as an end result. But it seems to me that we are near the point where we are giving up on manufacturing in this country. We Americans have grown arrogant and ignorant of our history, and if we don't wake up, we will find ourselves like every other former great power- being dominated or defeated by the next great power. We can't let our manufacturing industries just die in the name of saving money by buying Chinese.

Fixing Detroit

President-Elect Obama, I voted for you, contributed money to your campaign, and lost friends due to the excessive emailing in support of your candidacy, and now I have one request. Look at me as a lobbyist for working America.

Before we write one check to GM, Ford, or Chrysler, we must insist that in return for the investment of our $25 Billion dollars the companies must agree to our terms. These terms are not open to negotiations

In return for our investment; The United States Auto Trust will receive Preferred Stock equal to 51% ownership in all three companies. All current board members must resign post haste. The board will be replaced by senior directors who are prohibited from owning stock or profiting from the companies operations. The top three layers of management will be summarily dismissed without bonus and with minimum severance. The board and current management are complicit in the downfall of the American auto industry.

The mandate of the trust to the new board & management is that they will, retool or rework their plants to build cars that exceed the New Cafe standards by 25% by the end of fiscal 2009. The plans have already been drawn according to current management.

Mandate to the unions that jobs will be saved. However
New health & retirement benefits will be established. By pooling all of the employees of the big three together a better deal could be cut with a quality carrier. Retirees would be covered by the same plan until age 62 then they must join the rest of the country covered by Medicaid.

The board and management will close the Canada, Mexico & European plants, and build those cars in the USA. These conditions should be a part of any loan covenants or as pre-condition requirements prior to investment.

Don't say it can't be done. Good lawyers can make just about anything happen. After all IT'S OUR MONEY. YES WE CAN