After decades of the big 3 automkers blowing numerous opportunities to develope fuel efficient / hybrid vehicles, they want a 25 billion taxpayer bailout. I say no way!!! Let them fend for themselves, and if there is a bailout, let it be for the hurricane ravaged victims of the Gulf coast area. The big 3 should start to realize that the day of reckoning is upon them. It already maybe too late to get them to turn themselves around. Any thoughts on this issue? Dbcassidy
Not that your idea doesn't have merit but what about the employees? Maybe with the bailout we can make them do all kinds of stuff, like force all the Board of Directors to dress in clown suits for BOD meeting's? Wildkow
I agree, no bailout, but I think it will happen, bailouts seem to the be the order of the day for government these days. Banks and CEO's are being helped by GWB now, hard for politicians to not justify helping out the auto companies also. One good thing though, I think the auto companies will come back, so we will get paid back with them I think, banks and CEO's are just going to rip off taxpayers, somewhat of a difference.
There will be bailout. But not so much to keep US automakers alive, more to keep pockets of oil companies filled. Maybe Obama can change things, so car makers go towards fuel efficiency and leave oil companies to their own destiny. Oil makes the world turn around has to be changed to electricity makes the world turn around. Ogo
Bailout yes- we can't afford to have all carmaker profits going to other countries. We really have to make something besides farm products. But with a price: Up the CAFE standards. Mandatory 50% maximum gasoline powered production by 2019, 50% hybrid gas/electric, natural gas and electric only. No dividends for 10 years. No stock options and CEO max salary and benes of $2 million for 10 years. Repayment into their retirement funds for workers.
quote: Bailout yes- we can't afford to have all carmaker profits going to other countries. You've got to be kidding me. Where do you think bailout profits are going to go? Not to the workers, not to the people on the line. They are going to the execs. It seems like bailouts under the Bush Administration is what pardons was to the Clinton Administration... except in this case, the taxpayer is personally getting screwed over, paying out of their pockets again and again for the Republicans failure after failure after failure to administrate, appoint oversight, enforce higher standards, etc. etc. Tiny countries around the world are running circles around us and making us look like a big obese good-for-nothing giant sloth of a country, we can't even elevate our CAFE standards to be inline with what the rest of the world is producing, and we have to rely on little Japan (which we bombed the shit out of 50 some odd years ago) to teach us how to do it right. Pathetic.
I say, no bailout. Sink or swim; evolve or die. Or put another way: the companies need to learn to give the market what it wants, and to deprive them of that object lesson would be to make them uncompetitive for even longer...
When people say "lower taxes by cutting welfare", they usually don't realize the way to lower taxes the most is by cutting corporate welfare. Funny how the folks who say "Get the Government out of our lives!" the loudest (and I'm looking at YOU, Freddie & Fannie) don't mind crawling back to Uncle Sam when they suddenly realized they made a mistake and found out what has been proven time and time again: de-regulation just does not work.
A really bizarre idea would take all the money the government would provide for a bailout and instead use it to provide tax breaks for US electric car companies and electric car buyers. It would be a poor use of taxpayer money, but would probably have vastly better results than ........
Yes, if we are to think about the workers... then let's fund something for the workers to build that will be GOOD for us. And our economy. And our health. I've been laid off of four jobs in my "career." Not once was I offered any sort of bailout for my "poor worker" status. And yet here I am, still kicking and ornery as ever.
Meh, I'm 10 times more ornery than you ever were! I wonder where the bailout mania will end? I suppose I should take advantage of it though I'll start borrowing against my company, going on exotic vacations, buying giant homes I can't afford. Once I suck every penny out of my company, I'll pull a Chapter 11 and whine that I need the support of generous taxpayers, all the while pounding the table demanding less welfare and social programs Yep, sounds like a plan. If it works for the Big Three it has to work for me
Dem: We said we want a bailout, and we supported it. Rep: We say we are against bailouts, but we support them. I'll take the honest idiot.
You fell for his trap. "Democratic talking points" is a contradiction. You see, you put 12 Republicans in a room, ask them a question, and you'll get one answer. Put 12 Democrats in a room, ask them the same question, and you'll get 12 different answers (13 if one of the Democrats is Hillary Clinton).