3 months ago
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Auto Industry Bailout
How do people feel about the auto bailout? At first I didn't think the government should bail them out. The union deals are too rich and the industry hasn't responded very well to demand. They opposed any sort of government regulation for higher gas standards and payed lobbyists very well to get their point of view across to the right officials. (i.e. campaign donations) The federal committee with oversight of these standards was run by a Michigan representative so of course these standards were changed. The seventies should have informed the auto companies what the future would hold and the companies ignored the obvious and the government abdicated their responsibility to govern. I blame both of them but now I think by not bailing them out we will just speed what manufacturing infrastructure we have left in the US to foreign countries and I don't see it coming back in the near future. Why give 700 Billion to wall street bankers who are slicing and dicing our mortgages when the guy down the street has a job that could depend on the auto industry, like Johnson Controls in Milwaukee or the Janesville GM plant.
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About Me
- Chief Highknocker
- You aren't local until you have at least three generations in the cemetery.
13 comments:
What do you think of the gas/oil companies using their profits to bail out the auto industry? It seems to me the gas prices were sky high and started some of this trouble. Now, WHY are they so low?I heard this suggestion on Public Radio and believe it is worthwhile to try to encourage.
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Did you know there is a bailout for you? Probably not, but Obama is making it better for us already! Most people don't realize how much money there is out there. During economic times like this, there is more money to be had than ever. Because of the bailouts and economy, lenders are bending over backwards to bail you out too. Believe it or not, there is people getting tons of cheap money nowdays to start businesses, buy homes, pay off debt, and more. Bailout is for YOU
No, I was not aware of that info, thanks! I still believe the oil and drug companies should be taxed or forced to give up some of their profits to make the economy better for the folks they over charged.
To Mberenis: You don't get it. There is no money, it is only a bunch of printed paper. The more the government prints, the less valuable it becomes. Inflation rises. Sure the government can hand out money it does not even have. Don't you realize how far the United States are in debt?
Maybe "there is" people getting tons of cheap money nowadays, but that doesn't mean that they deserve it. The people who whine about not having enough are the same people who have been given every advantage to do something good with their lives and then were too lazy or unmotivated to make the effort. They would rather just collect "free money" and not even try to improve themselves. This country was founded by people who worked towards a common good and relished in the fruits of their labor. I have had enough of slackers getting handouts for contributing nothing.
9:08 pm I agree with you and do not believe Mberenis info is sound or trustworthy info to follow.
The CEOs of the car companies and the financial institutions are real culprits here. Look how much money they have gotten and the consequent mess we are in. Put your anger where it belongs.
Amen!
Sure, give it to them one time and one time only. Even with a bail out, I don't think they will survive.
It's sad; millions will be hurt with job loss. It will be one of the trickle economic effects that will be felt; it will trickle down to many sectors.
But, something better will emerge. Fuel efficiency and new technologies will emerge. Hopefully we can change our one sided trade policies. If a country won't play fair, then cut them off. It's ridiculous we accept 600,000 plus Korean cars into the US, but we can only ship 6000 to them.
We led the way in the car industry for many years. We watched as Toyota and Honda got closer and closer to taking the lead, and now finally, they've caught us. We shouldn't be surprised.
11:02am That is too true and so very sad.
It is China that we should be afraid of:
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, car sales in China in the first half of 2006 climbed almost 50 per cent, year-on-year, to 1.8 million.
The gains come on the heels of 21.4 per cent growth in car sales for 2005, with sales of luxury cars doing particularly well. Before the 1980s China did not allow private citizens to purchase vehicles for private use and there were few automobiles on the roads. By 2005, there were 20 million cars in use. By 2020, it is estimated, there will be 140 million.
Oh, here is one more piece of good news: At the recent annual Detroit auto salon, China's Changfeng auto group announced that within two years it will be selling sports utility vehicles and pick-up trucks at least 20 per cent below any competitor. Isn't that wonderful?
About the 5:01 post...
That's pretty scary when you think about it. Here we are having just gone through the $4.00/gal of gas. It almost shut our country down. Does China require cars with high fuel efficiency? Or any of the other restrictions on exhaust etc. like the USA does? What will that many cars do to the worlds fuel supply and at what cost to the environment? Global warming? Remember the stories about how bad the pollution already was during the Olympics?
Too True!!!
Isn't it a simple case of adjusting supply to meet demand?
Demand has fallen for US auto makers and will continue to fall.
If we (taxpayers) try to prop-up 3 large automakers, the problem has not been resolved. They still have too much capacity between them for the market. Eventually (quite soon) the bailout money will be exhausted, and either we bail them out again (and again and again) or all 3 will fail.
So...
Wouldn't it be better to put our financial support into two from the 3 manufacturers and let one go. That way, we eliminate supply by one-third and we balance the supply-demand equation. So instead of having three failing businesses we can have two successful ones.
What seems to be simple economics is being veiled by politics and irrational/emotional thinking.
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