What if the government bailed out the big three by issuing a nice fat tax credit for any one purchasing a vehicle from a dealership? Folks would have an incentive to buy the car they may have been hesitating to purchase, the dealers would profit, the manufacturers would profit, and they could use the $ to re-tool. Or split the bailout between automakers and buyers….

I have a solution to the Auto Industry now wanting 35 billion dollars – seems to me that the U.S. Government just gave Citibank 300 billion and Citibank is in the business of making loans, so why don’t the Big 3 Auto Makers seek their 35 billion dollar loan from Citibank? We know that Citibank has the money!

Kenny, Morristown TN

I Think the oil companies should bail out the auto industry.

Wether the big trio likes it or not ,their goose is cooked. The industry has got to swollow hard,and take the poison pill. They must be raised to the ground, and make way for 21st century innovation, and ingenuity. We’ve accomplished the dream,and made them a reality,with practical break-thru’s in solar, battery (lithium) capacity.etc.. It’s not the “Iron Age”, as some would have you believe, or unjustly picking ,and choosing who should live,and die it’s the survival of adaptation (better known as evolving) to guarrantee a future for our children, and their children,…….

If we give them 25 billion or whatever in loans, will we ever see that money again? The answer is NO! The big three need to let go of unions and privatize there workforce like Toyota,Honda and Nissan. That is the only way the bailout will work. The big three also need to fire all three CEO’s and start fresh with new blood. GM CEO Wagner has been with his company for 31 years and now it’s almost bankrupt and he gets to keep his job? Drastic changes need to take place or all three will go bankrupt.

Why doesn’t the “big three” go knocking on the door of ‘Big Oil” for the loan? If it is indeed a loan, why doesn’t Exxon who has posted record profits share their money? Companies like Exon directly benefit from the car companies staying afloat. Seems like a no brainer.

I guess I don’t understand how the auto makers can run their businesses into the ground and get the taxpayer to pay for their mismanagement. How these guys can draw such extraordinary salaries and bonuses for failing to make a profit is beyond my comprehension. The real mystery is that regardless of who is in the white house it is business as usual (BIG BUSINESS).

I own a Saturn, but if GM is bailed out I will never ever buy another American CAR never…………I searched online last night for a non American car I can tow with our RV and our next purchase will be a Honda CRV………………..GM’s Union killed GM, our friends that worked there get everything for free, there is no way this bailout will work with there Union, it’s just a bandage………….Please let GM go down with it’s Union in tow………..My husband flew in there for years from Robert Bosch/SC and said this was coming and could not figure how they stayed afloat this long…………

I hope enough people are like me and will not support any company getting these bailouts, if so the American people will have the power to stop this craziness

Enough already with the bailout. Step back and think about the sales of all autos. Some auto sales “expert” thinks sales of autos should always continue to increas. Why? I believe Americans have finally realized they don’t need a new car every 2 years. Cars now have 10 year warranties. They generally last longer in good condition. Used cars cost a fraction of the new price. We just don’t need to produce so many new cars. That is the new paradigm. Detroit and it’s greedy unions need to understand that and adjust as quickly as possible to produce a lot less cars.

No! If this was a good investment, a private company would have already offered them a loan. I don’t want to see the Big 3 completely fail, but I think that they need to file bankruptcy and reorganize before the government helps them. They are begging desperately right now because they want to keep their same, unsustainable business model going a bit longer. But they need the kind of change that only bankruptcy can deliver.

Call it what it is — a Bailout. Why? First, we have bankruptcy laws in this country to allow companies and individuals to file for protection from creditors as they reorganize and try to get back on their feet. Instead of using this option, the Big 3 has decided that it is the American public’s job to bail them out for the poor business decisions and shabby products Detroit has been making for years. Yes, this did not just happen as the UAW and Big 3 CEOs would have us believe. Second, Detroit has no intention of paying us back because even with the bailout they will still fail, either completely or partially. The PR stunts by the Big 3 and their unions to sell the American public this raw deal is sickening.

The bailout plan will never be viable for these Big 3 companies. The reason for that is simple- the executives, especially these three CEOs, do not have any new ideas or plans to move the companies to the right direction. Since they failed to turnaround their companies in so many years, these idea less executives must step down first instead of insulting the American business intelligence further in the name of giving up salaries, selling corporate jets, driving to DC by cars, and cutting down Union Contracts. I think the taxpayers are smart enough not to be fooled by these incompetent CEOs.

These high-powered leaders of a failing America industry state that in order to get the $34billion pay out they will limit their pay to $1/yr. Does that include the huge un-earned bonuses they have taken while they have failed to lead their companies back to being profitable producers benefitting our economy. Bonuses are earned. They haven’t earned them. They should be replaced by their stockholders and sent home in embarrassment and shame.

They need to get rid of all Unions in order to make it work, they the workers, get paid this huge amount compared to the general public, and even have enough to line their own pockets. Let get real here, get rid of those union vulctures. Then maybe talk. And make the salary of these three to fourth generation car makers worth it.

We’re talking upwards of 2 million jobs for 30 billion in loans. Plus all the families and retirees that depend on these companies for health insurance. Isn’t that WORTH the risk for 30B?

Require that the government be first in line as a creditor if they fail, and claim a large equity stake. The risk is minimal if they fail, and if the economy recovers in the summertime, the upside for the government is huge.

Compared to the money absolutely wasted on Wall St. this should be a no-brainer.

I agree there should be regulaltions and restructuring for the Big 3 in order to get a loan from the government (and it is a loan). But what happened to the regulations for the insurance companies and banks who got a bailout without any questions asked? The money was just handed over. Looks like congress is not thinking clearly as to how important the automobile industry is to every aspect of the american life. Look at all the donations the Big 3 have given to charities through the years. Foreign carmakers have not helped with one red cent. This is fact. Congress needs to open its mind and heart to the needs of the Big 3. Congress, get with the program and do what you should do. I have been a Chevrolet Dealer and I know how hard it is to make it work, not inexperience talking.

Why should my tax dollars be spent to bail out the makers of vehicles I cannot afford to buy new? If they made vehicles the average person could afford to buy they would not be in the fix they are in. If you want to use tax money to help them then make it in the form of a personal tax rebate given to the people who buy new cars. Pro rate it so that people with a high adjusted gross income get less than those with a lower income but don’t give it to people who do not pay taxes. (they are not contributing to the solution anyway) the rebate could be paid directly to the loan organization who finance the new car so money could go directly to the manufacturers and there would be a guarantee that the rebate would come as long as the purchaser stayed employed and had a rebate coming. This way the only tax dollars that would be spent would be money that was coming in and we would not be increasing the debt load.

I can only hope that Congress listens to the American people this time, and denies a bailout package to the “Big 3″. If the American people bail out the automakers, little will change. Corporate greed and years of gross mis-management will continue unchecked into the future. The automakers should be pleading their cases before a bankruptcy judge, not congress.

GM said that they would not have the technology for the Volt until 2010. What was it that GM drove to Washington? Not a Volt that will go into productiong two years from now. Another shill game. Incidently, would it not have been cheaper and much better use of their time than commercial flight? Do the math.

Are GM, Ford, and Chrysler really the “Big 3?” How many of their cars are actually made in the United States, vs. Mexico? The figures on North American production are misleading — and I am not interested in American tax payer money going to save Mexican jobs.

Doesn’t Toyota and Honda produce more cars in America than some of the Big 3? Why should Uncle Sam invest money in failing companies instead of good ones?

I recently invested in buying an american car. I think it is ridiculous that we are debating whether to help the Big 3 out. It should not even be a question. If we don’t help them the US will be even more dependent on foreign countries to import ALL of our cars. How ridiculous is this. We need to get back to made in the USA. Yes the automakers need to present a viable economic plan—But this was not required of AIG. This is too important for us Americans to sit back and not agree to. I fully support a loan to the Big 3 to keep producing cars here in the US. Stop and think about the consequences if we don’t. Wake up America.

These guys will never be able to turn the industry around as long as they fail to see what the real problem is and how to come up with the right solutions that would be in line with the general public thought pattern. Lower compensation for upper management is a must to gain trust of American people. Getting rid of UAW and its massive cost to the car companies is a must for survival. Going to hydrogen driven vehicles is what people want to see, not electric, not biodiesel, etc. Building quality is a must for regaining market share. And to ask us to bail them out when they are clueless and would waste this money as well is down right criminal. I wonder how many of them would be willing to go to jail for 20 years if they can’t turn around their respective company’s after being bailed out?

But the sad fact is that our government, made by the corporations for the corporations, will bail them out even though most of us believe that they should go under given the poor quality of vehicles that they manufacture. I gave up on these guys once I replaced the transmission 4 times in 5 years. Now I drive a Toyota for the past 3 years, and you guessed it, NOTHING has gone wrong with it. Maybe the boards of these companies should start hiring management talent from the Japanese companies.

Bailing out the car companies would be the worst thing we could ever do as a country. It is the fault of the car companies for not moving forward to promote a better environment and more efficient vehicles; instead they made bigger and bigger trucks. I think those companies should pass on, and all those out of work assembly line workers should first take a reduction in pay (they make more than me and I have a BSc and MSc!) and move on to a more sustainable industry like green energy.

The car companies didn’t care about the American public until their jobs were jeopardized. Why should we bail them out?…do you make $22,000,000 a year, I didn’t think so.

I say no to the bailout. it is good money going after bad. This will not stop them from going under. The autoindustry has changed forever and GM, FORD, and Crysler are too big. They have to many bulidings, Dealerships, plants. The only way to continue is to close plants and dealerships. They are still setup like they alone have 100% of the automarket not 50 to 60% they currently have. They are no different than any other compnay that has failed to adapt and we should not be forced to pay for their mistakes. Let them file chapter 11 close a number of plants and dealerships and come out leaner and better prepaired to deal with the market.

Top 5 reasons NOT to bail out the “Big 3.”

1) Bankruptcy IS an option. Call it tough love, but it would force them to adjust their cost structure a lot faster than a bailout (uh, excuse me, use whatever “b” word you like there).

2) These are the same guys that brought you the Hummer and Excursion when other companies were rolling out the first hybrid vehicles. Let’s face it, they gambled and lost.

3) “If they file for bankruptcy, Americans won’t want to buy their cars.” Here’s a news flash… people already don’t want to buy their cars. They need to fix the root problems…starting with the UAW contract.

4) Taxpayers are being asked to pony up money so that all of these folks can keep their cushy union jobs. Most of those taxpayers don’t make half what these union employees make. I just found out today that there was a clause in the union contract to pay laid off workers 95% of their salary. Give me a break! I’m sure that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to wasteful rules that the UAW shackles around these companies’ ankles. No wonder they’ve become non-competetive.

5) The fact that these CEO’s all drove in their hybrids this time only further proves that they ‘don’t get it.’ They drove 10 hours for a PR stunt when a simple coach or business class ticket would have probably been cheaper considering the value of their time.

Bail them out now and you’ll have to do it again. Don’t bail them out and we may be in a heap of more trouble. What to do? Bail them out but keep them accountable for taking taxpayer money….but that propaply won’t happen either.

Treasury Secretary Paulson doled out nearly $300 billion of the bailout money to the investment banks with the intent of thawing frozen credit markets. It doesn’t seem that this approach worked as expected. The banks are still tight with lending and this is causing a further downturn in consumer confidence and spending which represents over 60% of the economic activity in the U.S. I agree with giving the Big 3 loans, not freebies as the banks received as the automakers are far too important to let fail with respect to jobs and the manufacturing industry. If we see a loan package for the Big 3 (along with the new, lower mortgage rates and Obama’s entrance to the White House) we will see the downturn of the U.S. economy level off as consumers will see this as a sign that the U.S. government is finally starting to make the right steps instead of just bailing out Paulson’s banking buddies.

Unions used to be necessary. Now they are not and they are ruining our economy.

I feel that if the Big Three want this money that they should return all of their plants from Mexico, Canada, or wherever back to the United States. It would put more good paying jobs back into our economy. I live in a small town in Iowa that used to have a big factory that paid well who made seats for Chrylser. A few years ago it was closed down and shipped to Mexico. Working at a local business here in town, you can feel the immediate effects of having all those good paying jobs leave the community. It may just be one small town but I’m sure if the big picture was looked at all across the country of similar situations, it would be highly beneficial to move these jobs back. Toyota and Honda build cars here, and for some reason I haven’t heard them crying for a bailout. Greed has crippled our economy, and I feel we need to get rid of the greed before we can take steps forward.

I just don’t get it !

Why would we use US Taxpayer $’s to have the “Big 3″ close plants in the US and N. America ?

If we use the money to re-tool, adjust pay and benefits for both executives and union workers (Both over compensated), that is fine.

But adding large numbers to the unemployment lines makes no sense to me !

Very interesting article – I’m from Metro Detroit and I didn’t know half that stuff. Thanks for giving us something different than all the same stuff we’ve heard already.

It’s nice to see the history here behind these CEO’s but where were they with building quality affordable gas efficient cars 10 years ago? I’ve owned dodge/ chrystler cars my entire life and it seems to me that quality has sure gone down hill with each car I bought. I was 18 when I got my first car…a K car. I got that thing up to 130K miles before giving it to my sister and was driven up until 2003! Dodge spirit #2.. well over 135K before something went wrong. 2000 Intrepid (terrible all around) then lastly my 2004 Dodge Neon (the only chrysler/dodge gas efficient car) lasted 3 years before my transmission blew! So tell me CEO’s… what are you going to do about this and convince me not to buy a honda or Toyota? I’d much rather purchase a good car than to be gauranteed a poorly built car with a warranty that only exists for the lifetime of the loan.

Here’s an idea: Send a check to EVERY American over the age of 18 equal to the price of a new American made car…..and only good for said purchase.

That should stimulate the economy. Don’t think Toyota and Honda will think much if the idea.

I haven’t done the math, but I’m guessing it’d be less than $34 billion. And think of the trickle down, or up.

And the money would get to the Big 3 the usual way, w/o them having the opportunity to screw it up.

Why is this country still bailing out corporate america? Why is the country not trying to bail out the actual citizens? Middle income and low income america still won’t be able to BUY cars which is driving the car industries revenue if we don’t have the means to BUY the car. Bailing the Big 3 out isn’t going to help me buy a new or used car… i still don’t have the means to do it…. I don’t want to see any employees lose their jobs, but until the government helps actual citizens deal with higher prices of EVERYTHING when our salaries are not going up at the same rate, how will we ever get out from under?

Has anyone stopped to think that if we do not bail out the auto industry, and all of the Big Three go broak, that we will be at the mercy of all the foreign auto makers. We will be in the same mess when it comes to buying a car as we have seen with gasoline. The foreign auto makers will sell there products at such a high price that the average Joe won’t be able to afford a car.

Do we really want to be at the mercy of both the foreign auto makers and OPEC?

As has been said hundreds of times by now, the government should not provide money to “bail out” or “bridge loan” ANY company or organization that has gotten itself into financial trouble by making poor business decisions.

When I make a poor decision and purchase something via my credit card that has an interest rate of 17.9% and my purchase goes obsolete in a matter of months or doesn’t work, or I just plain don’t have the money to pay my bill should I expect the government to provide me with money to obsolve me of MY poor decision?

The answer even on that small scale of course is NO, so why don’t our powerful, intelligent (?) congressmen and senators see the same foolishness in providing financial bailouts to AIG, GM, Ford, FreddieMac etc?

I love my GM vechicle. I had a Yukon Denali and it had over 78k on it when I traded it in on a Silverado 3/4 ton Diesel pickup. It was never in the shop for anything other than a couple of light bulbs. But, it’s obvious from a business standpoint that the big 3 need to trim down their expenses. They don’t need all of those brands. They could probably eliminate half.

Chrysler should not be at the table. They are a Private Equity play and should be going to their ‘private equity’ players not the middle class of America.

It would be great to continue to have the Big 3 US automakers that I have known my whole life. I was supportive of the US loan to Chrysler that was paid back in full in the 80s. However, I oppose any bailout of any kind. It is contrary to our own free market system. Why should an industry who has had since the 1970s to improve itself be given a “get out of jail” card. These companies not only make inferior products in comparison to their foreign counterparts but their allowed UAW contracts are obsured (i.e. jobs banks where idle workers get up to 95% of their wages while playing cards).

It is sad that there is so much chaos in America these days. I believe corporate as well as personal greed has been the major culprits. Self-evaluation and not more bailouts would be a good step in the right direction!

All we ever hear is how hard up the industry is. Everyone is hurting, first business moves the decent paying jobs out of the country. Then they whine because no one is buying their product. Have any of them considered the reason no one buys their product is because the consumers are scrambling to make ends meet since their job was shipped over seas? If no one has the money to buy the product, it doesn’t matter how cheaply the product is produced.

Its a shame that the auto makers have to jump through so many hoops (accountability) to get a loan….whereas the investment banks and insurance companies simply got bail-out money without having to provide a detailed plan (no accountability). If AIG had been required to provide a detailed plan for how they were going to use the money…they probably would not have wasted tax payer money on lavish retreats.

We have heard about the auto makers, suppliers, and dealers needs. What I haven’t heard is what the customer needs .Things like jobs and cheap credit. It does no good to prop everone up and leave the comsumer floundering. All the money in the word will not help unless it ’s put BACK in the hands of the consumer.

they need the help, but they don’t want to turn the corner to make their companies the top dogs in auto business. i think they all have their hand in europe auto business, that is making effiecient diesel cars. do that over here. bring those cars over here. quit being henchman for the oil companies. otherwise get the money from them.

I’m a hard-working man that doesn’t want to see his tax money go to the CEO of the “Big 3″. What I think the government should do is have a lottery, in where the put the SS# of middle income workers. Pick a # out and give that person a check for one of the “BIG 3″ makers so that we can buy a car, maybe something like a 20 thousand dollar check to go out and buy a car. This way the money is use to help the tax payer and the auto makers. Think about it they get my tax money and I get a car. What do you think?????

I am confused. Maybe you can help. I keep hearing about the Government bailout of banks an the Big Three. Just exactly where does this money come from? I thought this country and government was founded on the principle of “we the people”. Is it not true that the “bailout” and loans, etc. are coming from government funds provided by “we the people”. I would like to know what I am going to have to pay and why I have to pay for these “mistakes” of the Big 3 and Wall Street.

G. Klug
gaklug@comcast.net

When one considers the compensation packages these executives receive, even when they’re driving their companies into the ground, I’m shocked they have the audacity to ask for a bailout by taxpayers. It’s even more disconcerting that congress is even providing a venue for the begging. The auto execs and the unions, together, have been destroying their companies for years now. Giving them a handout won’t do anything but prolong the inevitable. The companies will still go under and Joe taxpayer will be stuck footing a $34B bill. In my opinion, let them go down. All of them. They’ve done it to themselves.

Big 3, are you kidding me? People aren’t buying cars because of credit scores? Half the country is unemployed! Hey Uncle Sam, give us a job and we’ll buy a car! This is just further proof that most of the folks involved in writing the blank check have no clue as to what is really happening in the American middle class home.

I sold Fords for over 14 years. During my time of employment with Ford Motor Company, I wrote many letters to the top brass. I wrote these letters, at least, a decade ago. My letters indicated that foreign competition was going to make mincemeat out of the American auto industry it we did not improve its quality, reliability, and durability. I indicated that we needed to have fewer Things Gone Wrong (TGW) in the first six months of ownership. I begged for more research and development in the areas of electric, hydrogen and alternative fuel powered vehicles. I sent the same letters to many of the politicians in Washington, simultaneously. I was told that the American auto industry would do all these things its own, and that free enterprise would save the day. Now, these same rich, big headed, know it all, snobbish and irresponsible men are begging for taxpayer money to pay for their mistakes. All of a sudden, the politicians in Washington want a plan. The auto bailout plan is just as stupid as the bank bailout plan. If the politicians in Washington have not figured out that the regular citizens need “DECENT PAYING JOBS,” “MONEY IN THEIR WALLETS” and “BANK ACCOUNTS” before the American economy begins to heal itself, those guys and gals really are STUPID!

Why are the big three car companies bundled in the same group. Maybe one if them needs to fail so that the other two can pick up the slack and come out of this economic downturn stronger and better able to compete against foreign manufacturers.
I believe we should let the market forces restructure the industry rather then allowing government to sustain weak companies with our hard earned money.
If they need a bridge loan let them go to a bank or sign a strategic alliance with Honda or Toyota.

I don’t think people realize how devastating the bankruptcy of the big three would be. It would make Michigan a ghost town. Things are really bad here already. It would have a ripple effect of shutting down suppliers, retail shops and on and on. Please don’t turn your backs on us. Realize that it is a loan. A bridge to get us to the future.

Very interesting article. However, I feel like everyone is always going after the heads (CEOs), completely ignoring all the wages and super packages for all the other execs within these companies, why not uncover useless spending and lack of delivering work on other levels of the company.

Let’s see –

quoted price of Capitol visitors’ center: ~$200m; actual price: ~$600.
Initial price of AIG bailout: ~$25b; current: ~$80b+
Big Three asking price today: ~$34b
we can be fairly confident the real amount will be well north of ~$100b

The audacity of the Big Three to continue doing “business as usual”,through several decades of market-share erosion, suggests they are unfit or unwilling to alter their business model to fit the current expectations of consumers. Why should taxpayers be asked to finance management teams which ran their businesses into failure? If there are to be loans or financial guarantees, they should be made available ONLY after penalties for failure to perform specific business adaptations have been CLEARLY DELINEATED by Congress. These management teams must be held liable and accountable to the public trust from which they request underwriting. Losing their personal assets or freedoms (yes, incarceration for felony-fraud) should be attached to the deal.

A “bridge loan” —– how quaint…..

It also appropriate because the US auto industry has basically driven itself off a bridge…

All 3 car makers should be required to bring all the jobs they shipped overseas back to America. No more outsourcing! How many car sales did that cost them when those people became unemployed. If they do not bring the jobs back now then no bail out! They sent jobs out of America, increased the unemployment numbers and now ask for taxes to bail them out from the same people they sent to the unemployment line. Slap the America people once and now slap them again. They can only have bail out money if the jobs return to America now! That will help reduce some unemployment.

The Big 3 must be allowed to fail. They cannot be allowed to maintain the status quo. If we bail them out with out some serious restructuring it will only happen again. They need to change almost everything about them: Mission, vision, labor practices. Everything. There hasn’t really been an original thought in Detroit since Lee Iacocca revamped Chrysler. And lo and behold, here we are again: in the same mess that Iacocca pulled them out of some 20 years ago.

At least the UAW offered the first olive branch with the offer of the canceling that ridiculous Job Bank. It’s a start. One of the major reasons for the US auto industry’s problems has been the way the UAW has neutered and eviscerated the auto industry for years. They finally realize, at least the union leaders, that they are going to have to give something back or they are all out of luck, and jobs, if they don’t compromise.

I think that the government should not bail the big 3. They should be on their own. If government bail them out using tax payer money, then the government should also bail out mom and pop shops or local supermarket as well.

Wait a minute. Here I am complaining about losing my job when I got to thinking, it doesn’t stop here.

I and others won’t be eating lunch in the diner anymore so they will have lay off some folks and of course they will probably buy less food to prepare. Look at the food chain producers, transporters, warehouse workers etc.

Where does it end?

There has to be relief somewhere.

A bridge Loan—- Now thats the ultimate BRIDGE to NOWHERE!!!!

I would really like to know why the government is giving the Big 3 a
difficult time over NOT producing more energy efficient vehicles when the federal government was giving out the “SUV” tax credit?

I know their “plan” includes more layoffs but if they accept US taxpayer money then the layoffs should come from their factories outside the USA. How do the expect to get taxpayer financing if they keep laying off the tax payers?

The solution is simple: Give the Big 3 a bridge loan or see unemployment in this country hit double digit numbers never seen since 1932. The Big 3 have made mistakes, but regulation and bad luck have had something to do with things. Much of the Big 3’s problems stem from the “perception vs. reality” model. Ford, GM, and Chrysler make quality products (Ford matches Honda & Toyota at the moment), but bad experiences in the past have tarnished what is a quality product now. What is considered regular maintenance on a Toyota is considered a quality issue with a domestic.

Here is an idea. You want money? Sell the plants you are closing. Then anyone who can convince the US that they can make an SUV that gets 50 mpg or a smaller car that can run on solar or only battery can have their own car company. You lease or buy the plants over time
A car Czar will make sure you set it up right so you dont fail, you use current plant workers without a union, you specialize in one car.

This might be a new era where we have a number of car companies with fewer over all car choices. That way when one fails the entire economy doesnt go down with it.

When asked to return to Washington with a plan, I hoped that the CEOs would have some compelling, long-term plan to restructure themselves. But, sadly, all they came up with was a promise to ditch the corporate jets and get $1 salary, if they are bailed out. This shows that these CEOs and management are totally out of touch with what’s going on in their companies. They also degraded themselves by driving from Detroit to DC. It is almost laughable that just because they were grilled about using corporate jets in the previous meeting, they drop their pants and appear in underware. I support bailing out the big 3 because not doing so affects so many families and small businesses, but not without a solid plan.

we let the airlines go bankrupt, why can’t we let the car companies do the same?

So, they are proposing taking $1 in salary. How about they take their salaries and give up the bonuses and stock options. Sounds like a better option to me.

in addition let the oil companies know we hope they make 50 billion
next quarter so we can use 30 billion of that money to help them
by finding an alternative means of fuel ourselves. then we won’t have to depend on opec or anyone else to supply our needs. it amazes me
that we have the technology to put a man on the moon or land a satellite on mars but we can’t make a car here on earth to run on anything but gas?

I know another B word – Bankruptcy ….many other major US companies have tried it and been successful, giving them a bailout will only teach them that the taxpayers will have their backs so they can continue to make poor and risky business decisions.

Or even if we want to bail them out at least let one of the file for bankruptcy that way they wouldnt all think it was a sure thing. I hate how people all got rich on these horrible risky business plans and now that they are coming back to bite the taxpayer is picking up the bill. Come people!

People are trying to fix a long term problem with a short term bailout. It forestalls the consequences, it does not get rid of them. The problem is systemic in our economy. Nothing will change our death spiral, just the velocity at which we hit. Once we hit bottom, than we can fly again. (Hopefully with more sense.)

Sad to say but I am in favor of bankruptcy for the Big 3. Over four generations of GM employees have came from my family, but I cannot go along with how this company has been mismanaged. Even if they were to be given $50 billion, what assurances are there that they will be capable of repaying the debt…none Why? because someone has to be able or willing to buy their products to repay the debt. I say let the bankruptcy happen, get the companies to work for the next two or three years to develop a cost competitive, fuel efficient group of passenger cars and trucks, re-tool their facilities (that must be located within the United States, not North America), and start making vehicles that can compete with the foreign market. But, the U.S. government has to also do it’s part. First and foremost, level the playing field on all taxes and tariffs for all import and export vehicles. If the foreign car manufacturers want to continue to market, manufacturer and sell their products in our country, they must abide to the same rules that are imposed on U.S. manufacturers that are wanting to market, manufacture and sell in their countries. Second, the government must provide the necessary, tax incentives to the U.S. manufacturers to promote for continuing education after employment. The education must be relative and useful toward the development of a stronger workforce, not necessarily a union workforce. Finally, the government, along with the Federal Reserve, and the banking institutions have to change the way that they do business. Live within the means of the earnings, do not continue to borrow against time, because time never loses. Zero percent financing and qualifying for 125% of the vehicle’s listed value does not change the way people live a reckless lifestyle. It’s by making people responsible for their purchases, by denying what they cannot afford to own, when we will change our country’s outlook to positive.

Here are the problems I had with my last Big 3 car and why I will NEVER by another one from them Remember, this is my experience with just ONE of their products between 52,000 miles and 100,000 miles:
1. Broke down 9 times
2. Towed 7 times
3. 5 starters replaced
4. Rear Axle failed
5. Climate Control failed
6. Door Locks failed
7. Fuel Pump failed
8. Air bag suspension failed
9. Spark plug wires failed
10. Remote Entry failed

I replaced that car with a foreign car, made in the US with 180,000 miles and it has NEVER broken down and everything works like new.

Detroit doesn’t have a clue…….

The Ceos have to make paycuts on all the high and sub managers by some specific percentage to save money. Cutting from $100,000 to $75,000 and many people would love to make $75,000 today so why not cut the managements salaries before asking me as taxpayer to bail them out?

We all remember middle school science: “non-renewable” resources means that they can’t be made and we will run out. But somehow, none of the “Big 3″ really planned for this. It seems like they were too busy building SUVs and shipping our jobs overseas. GM spent millions trying to fight government regulations for better fuel economy. Ford closed plants in America to open new ones in Mexico. Meanwhile, the executives at the top get bonuses and perks that the average American couldn’t even dream of. They fiddled while their automotive Rome was burning, and now that everything lies in ashes they want the taxpayers to fix it.

The fact that we are even in this situation right now shows how unworthy these companies are of any public assistance. But it’s either that or watch unemployment reverberate through the economy for years. I have to support the bailout, but you can bet that I will never buy another American car.

Let them go bankrupt…Then with a court appointed Trustee overseeing their expenditures , give them their Briudge Loan as they call it..At least we will know for sure that the money is well spent..

Please do not bailout the Big 3. We claim that our economy is based on the free market principles — if that is true then let the market do it’s work. I think the market has already made its point. IIt seems the only people that did not see that oil is a limited commodity, were the auto makers. If the auto industry can take the profits when the times are good. Then they should live by the free market and take responsibility when the market speaks. We cannot say we are for a free market and then step in every time the market tells us we have done something wrong.

Let’s do the math – $34 to 125 billion dollars in loans (to be paid back)versus some even higher amount of money when at least 2 of the Big 3 fail and take their employees, dealers, and suppliers with them. That’s a lot more people drawing unemployment and welfare. Add to that all of the tertiary services affected – the shippers, area restaurants that those employees went to, businesses that will also fail because of loss of business.

We bailed out the people largely responsible for the current economic crisis without so much as a by-your-leave (and didn’t require THEM to show how they were going to improve their businesses). And they got $700B. Did the automakers screw up? Yes. Should they be held accountable? Most definitely. But we are all going to take a hit if the auto industry in this country tanks. The question now is just how big a hit? Even the financial analyst from Moody’s said they needed to make the loans to the automakers. Because the alternative was not going to be any better.

Take the $34 billion out of the $700 billion already approved. The financial industry doesn’t seem to know how to use the money properly, and at least the auto industry has drafted plans. Sure, hold their feet to the fire and make them get it right. But think about the big picture – it’s not just GM and Chrysler and Ford that are impacted by the failure of any of them, it is a large number of associated businesses that will fail without them.

The B word is the only way to get the unions out, I was in the retail side of the auto business for 27 years. How can you pay folks $65.00 an hour and sell to folks making 10 to 20 an hour, now I’m not the smartest cookie in the jar but those economic numbers do not work.
Do you realize that if we lay these folks off they get paid full time and benefits for 48 weeks. Who else has benefits like that not me!
Let them go through the process, folks will work to build cars for lot’s less and someone that gets paid X amount of dollars to push a button forty times a day, will be paid for their work and be happy instead of complaining that they have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from pushing the button.

I was watching the hearings today. Very interesting. One thing that was mentioned but didn’t get the attention it deserved is the fact that the big 3 make too many cars. So in addition to forcing the UAW to agree to the same terms that American workers at US-based Honda and Toyota factories get, the big 3 need to drastically cut capacity. Merging GM and Chrysler would go a long ways towards reducing overall capacity because it would create so many redundant vehicles that would have to be culled from the product lines. I believe that there is enough private capital out there that somebody, or some company, would step in at the last minute and by up the remnants of GM and/or Chrysler at fire sale prices and gut the companies so that all that is left is what would be necessary to create and sell the kind of vehicles that met the real needs of car buyers.

OK, let the auto companies go bankrupt. IF we stop giving taxpayer money to AIG ($140B, 38B, 40B), Citibank ($25B, 300B), GE ($39B), et al. Yeah, let the bankers and Wall St. types go bankrupt, they mismanged their companies to the tune of trillions of dollars. Why should we give them more resort trips, billions of bonuses, golden parachutes, stock options and multi-million dollar salaries, when an autoworker is “overpaid” at $52,000 per year, and if lucky, a $30,0000 per year pension. Wow, yeah, that’s really way too much.

I think the Big 3 should have to accet their mistakes, and take responsibility. Let’s play Devil’s advocate for a second. If the Big 3 do not receive the bailout, they will file for bankruptcy, and their employees will loose jobs. If we give into the bailout, we keep them affloat for a few more years, running the same business model, keeping the same CEOs, and trying to push new and innovative cars on the customer (that have proven to be unmarketable). Why don’t we take the 30 billion and create jobs for the employees who will be layed off? Why don’t we give them a great package to last them enough time to get back on their feet? I think we are too worried about the big picture, and we should, this time, focus on the smaller details. The little details are the ones who did not make poor judgements, yet, they will be the first to suffer.

NO more bailouts, not for the BIG 3 or anyone else. Government should be for the people. To get things going again, take that $34 billion and provide jobs for taxpayers that want to work. That would help the infrastructure of the country and provide much needed community services. In turn people would start buying and that stimulates the economy and there would be a “Trickle Up” instead of “trickle down” which helps very little to none at all.

It is time for the politicians to walk away from the lobbyist and listen to “We the people” .

I’m so sick of the scare tactics that have been used in these bailouts.

I for one, will never buy another vehicle one of the Big 3 manufactures if this bailout goes through and I will make it a point to campaign against any Senator or representative that votes for this garbage.

We heard that we had to bail out the banks and AIG or the economony would collapse. So what is there so show for the 700 million we used to bail them out? The economy is worse than what it was, stock market is in the garbage dumpster.

Now we have the Big 3 begging for money, and we have the whole Chicken Little “the world is ending” refran. And we will keep giving them money over and over if this goes through. File for Chapter 11 and re-organize. People did not stop flying when Delta, NWA and every other airlines went bankrupt.

Get rid of the bloat and then come back to talk!

i think its time for a little Canadian input.

congress IS going to pony up the money…..
tax payers Will pay for it……
Uaw IS going to sell out their members…..
Caw (here in Canada) IS going to do the same thing…..
big 3 executives WILL continue to get richer…….
so called American car companies will continue to build cars in foreign countries cheaper than here…..
and selfish arrogant Americans WILL continue to whine and point their fingers, blaming everyone but themselves.

THE END

I say let them go under; once they are broken then enforce a package of changes…from fuel efficencey to reliability and quality of work, remove the UAW ( I dont want my taxes going to a union) and then help them stand back up, bring back the plants that went over seas (now that the auto industry does not have the UAW hanging over them it will be cheaper to manufacture American) . maybe then America will once again buy American Made

We need to make shure we louse no more job get the Uion get there act together , we also have every thing we need to make the car for the peolples need ask the people that knows how ,I know How to build a car that doen’t need all of what ther useing.that we can sell back to the other country to get our money back in order.It’s called MDI

I thought the “B” was referring to “BANKRUPTCY”…..that’s what the the big 3 need to do! Clean out the store and start fresh! It will work if they want it to!

The industry has provided trillions of $ to the economy over the years. The benefit of these companies to our society greatly outweigh the deficit. If they don’t get the assistance they are requesting, what will be left in this country to sustain the economy? It’s expected to be upset with the poor management. They should not be in those positions any longer because they have proved that they are incapable of performing the job. However, millions of people puting in an honest day’s work for the past 100 years in this industry should be the last to be penalized. Don’t be so hard on the unions either. If it weren’t for them, the benefits that many of us non-union members enjoy today wouldn’t exist.

we let the airlines go bankrupt, why can’t we let the car companies do the same?

Well sounds like you need to do some research huh?

Give them the bailout, these companies are a part of core to the American economy. For every 1 job lost within GM, Chrysler, or Ford another six jobs are lost from other various companies including financing. Yeah You!! The failure of just one of the companies can lead the U.S. to a free falling recession.
Open your eyes people.

Has anyone really thought about giving the BIG 3 a bailout. They do not deserve one. CEO’s are the down fall of our Country. Not only in the Auto Industry but other businesses as well. CEO’s have only one interest, them selves.Why should they get a Bail-Out? No way! In the event that they receive any monies, who is to say they will pay it back. If they default how will this loan be paid back? Let the Auto Companies go down. Maby this would wake up other companies that are waiting in the wind to see if a Bail-Out will be given. Should a Bail-Out be allowed the door will be open to other Corporations looking for relief. Bad way to do business. Oh, $1.00 in Salary, and the rest in Stock Options if you believe. Give up all those huge bonuses they receive.

ENOUGH! The auto industry should take the same course of action as did the airline (and other) industries – file for bankruptcy; force to restructure and be a better industry for ALL Americans. Even if they “promise” to pay back the “loan”; where’s the equitable justice for the taxpayer unable to make ends meet – forced into bankruptcy and loss of home, income, etc. This is an example of BAD government lending to BAD business. So where’s my bailout?

The first American motor companies were born of big ideas from common men. These companies have grown into giants, who have through their size and power, succeeded in derailing new ideas and inovation from entering today’s marketplace. The time has come for new ideas. If these companies fail, yes many people will be out of jobs today, but they will also provide a skilled workforce to carry out tomorrow’s inovations and put new products in the market. We cannot afford to keep on keepin’ on down the same old path. Treadmills get you nowhere.

How about the CEO’s, Union Managers, and Union employees bailing out the auto companies. With the auto companies paying more in health benefits for retired employees than working ones, just cut off the health care payments and let them use their medicare and massive pensions.

It’s nice that we’re seeing congress have all of these hearings before this bailout?

However, where was their concern with regard to the plan to lend $700 billion dollars to these big Jewish banks? They barely skipped a beat as they took billions of our tax dollars and handed it over to those conmen. Meanwhile, when the auto makers come to Capitol Hill with their hands out, they basically stage their best recreation of the Nuremberg trials.

Apparently, allowing billionaire New York bankers to milk us dry is acceptable, but when “blue collar” industries which employ millions of Americans seek the same sort of help, it’s an abomination.

The government should not be used as an enabler for companies who have out-priced, and mis-managed themselves into a hole. I would like to know the outrageous amounts of money these CEO’s have made during their careers with these companies that will allow them to be able to survive on a one dollar a year salary. There is probably enough money there alone to bail out the companies.
It all breaks down to one thing. GREED. The management of the “big 3″ and the unions have lined their pockets without regard for the American People, as evidenced by the high prices they charge for the inferior products they produce. Now they are asking the government to take money away from the people to give to them so they can get ot of the mess their greed created??
I say that the billions that they claim to need would be of better use to try to save the average Americans who are having trouble paying for things they need to survive, food, shelter, medical care, etc.
If the government issues this bail out, who will be next?? The airlines, upscale retail companies, the movie industry? Where will it end?? Quite simply, it won’t. A bailout of the auto industry will be a precedent for any and all large companies to waltz into Washington, DC for a handout to save “their way of life”.
What about the hard working people of the United States who are suffering through the toughest economical times in a number of years? The ones of us who are dealing directly with the fallout from the messes created by “the elite”. Who is there to bail us out???

I don’t understand why as americans how we can talk about our companys like this. As the son of a Chevy dealership worker who has not entered collage yet, it boggels my mind to watch cnn, msnbc, foxnews all of these stations and hear of people who don’t realize what its like to hear your fathers job could be gone any day. And you mothers job who works at P&G who is out sourcing her job to India, just so there stock can climb, and the Whitecollar workers can get their 10 millon dollar bonus. I struggle to comprehend this, to see how americans can not even support their fellow americans, not realizing that their jobs are in the balance at the same time. For anyone who drives there prius to work everyday, i hope you read this and realize that your vehicle..was not made here by someone like my father, and even if you buy a foreign vehicle so called “made in the U.S.A” your toyotas 48% american made including parts not like your neighbors chevy which is 88% american made with parts. I hope next time you think and look at the % of how much of the vehicle is american, every % is another employed american from a family like mine.

The GM CEO should step down. The Chrysler CEO should step down. The Chrysler CEO was chosen by a private Equity Investor – however previously had a failed track record at Home Depot. The Ford CEO had a proven track record at Boeing – and has structured his company into the best financial shape of the three – so he deserves to stay.

As far as the “B” word – well hold your noses – and approve it. The damage to the economy will be far less at this point than Bankruptcy for the Big 3, errr… soon to be Big 2.

21st century version of the three stooges.

Larry, curly, and Mo flew in in three separate glittering jets and stick their hands out, some body remind them about the jets so this time their drove for 10 hours to get in with the three hybrids. I bet you the Japanese CEOs laugh their A off.

The old stooges were smart but acting dumb, these modern stooges are clueless and acting dumb.

I live in Northern Michigan. I’m really worried about our economic crises in our state; but a bail out for the motor companies? I don’t think so! I have friends that have lost their jobs with the motor companiies and no one is helping them! I think that the CEO’s should be fired! Please! They saw this coming. Bail them out no, fire them, and start with new honest people; if you can find any. I’m sure the CEO’s didn’t cut their salaries or bonuses in the last five years!

What is wrong with people? We never questioned one thing about the money to wall street-white collars but to main street-blue collar workers we question,question, and question?! The US automakers are the backbone to our country. I would be ashamed if I purchased a foreign vehicle. Yeah-you idiots should be hanging your heads down in SHAME!!!!! This is the most needed bailout of all. This effects millions of people. The unions help people recieve decent pay, pensions, and healthcare benefits! I know Obama will push this through when he is president.

Never thought of asking CitiBank or Exxon to bail out the Big 3. Good ideas. My understanding is that there is a 6-month inventory on hand. So they cut production from 14,000,000 to 10,0000. I’m assuming there’s an inventory of 7,000,000. It doesn’t make sense to me. What does make sense is having just one auto maker, perhaps Ford. If the assets of the others were sold off, a least suppliers would get something on what’s owed. We have more than enough auto makers. What the sad part is that the workers will suffer no matter what. Even if we bail them out and they turn around and make big profits, there will still be layoffs. If one company is allowed to continue, the best and brightest from the other two will be available for hire. I hear “best and brightest” a lot regarding wall street people and CEOs. Well, the best and brightest seemed to have made a mess but got rich anyway. I apply best and brightest to the workers on the line. We do need an auto maker for national security purposes. But do we need three?

There is no doubt that the Big 3 and the UAW need to make some serious changes… they have made huge mistakes that must be rectified to the greatest degree possible. However, how is it that American taxpayers are willing to write blank checks to the fat cats on Wall Street with little to no restriction but cheer hanging the auto industry out to dry? How can you be so blind? Financial institutions and their shady business practices have our economy mired in a dire financial crisis and the auto industry is vilified for its excess? Wake up America…there is plenty of blame to go around. The Big 3 should absolutely not be shouldering it all.

see what they said.. if the goverment can bail out financial institutions, then they should bail out us..what is next then? toy company, retail stores and etc?

What really bothered me was the offer to work for only $1 salary. Since the total compensation for these men is 2 million in salary and 18 million in perks and bonus, the offer to suspend 10% of the compensation did not seem very viable to me. If you are saying the company is dire need, do your part as well. Drop the 18 million and I would be impressed enough to agree to a loan. Look at what the middle class is having to do without already.

I don’t want to bailout the auto companies but do we have a choice. I think many of us think, well I don’t work there and they make too much anyways – true enough. However, I run a small shipping company and although our ships are fully covered under contracts for the next five years, we are already seeing numerous defaults – we are in good shape but we will trim. If you are employed and somehow think you are going to get out of this unscathed wake up, plenty more bad news to come. Like it or not we need the auto industry and the society as a whole to consume or we are in for a difficult road ahead – my thoughts anyways.

I agree, I think the Oil Companies should bail out The Big 3 since they have the money to do it. It’s not the Government’s job to bail out these car companies or Wall Street for that matter. I think if the Government turns over our hard earned tax dollars to The Big 3, at the very least the car companies can do is provide every tax paying American citizen with a brand new Free car. That would be a nice Christmas gift in exchance for their so-called “Bridge Loan”. It’s still a bail out.

I think the quality issue may be a little missconstrued,
could it be that GMs and Fords last alot longer then the forign
brands. I drive a 91 chev 115000 miles, and 93 buick 97000 mi, and a 91 ford van 128000 mi , and they all run and drive exelent. When and if they wear out I will buy another GM or Ford. Oh I have driven and rode in the forgin brands not the feel of a GM or Ford. Save these
great companies. They will come back with a little help. We all got fooled by 4.00 a gal gas.

Technically, it will not be a bailout for GM, The United States Government still OWES GM what would be today’s equivalent of several billion dollars from WWII military purchases.

Or the United States could just renew the Korean war, it is going to happen eventually. It still isn’t over because it was a ceasefire, not a peace treaty. The new war would then boost GM’s sales but this will most likely never happen.

I worked for one of the “Big 3″ for over 14 years as a mid level manager in a manufacturing facility. Unfortunatly,in 2006 the facility I work for was closed due to “down sizing”. It didn’t seem to matter to the company that our facility was the most efficent, most productive, award winning plant in North America. They closed it any way. Now with that being said, I have since went to work for another company that manufactures American made products, and I see so many things that are done differently here vs the auto industry. The Big 3 need to wake up, ditch the blood sucking UAW, and restructure there companies starting with the salaries of Executives and the wages of their work force. Bring product back to the U.S. instead of Mexico, Canada, and Europe. It really does not make since to “bridge a loan” to companies that are reducing jobs in the U.S., now does it?

In principle, I don’t believe these guys should receive taxpayer money. In reality, I DO believe, the companies that make stuff are far more deserving of my tax dollars than the companies that make nothing. The automakers’ plans are weak? The banks had NO plans! The automakers aren’t sacrificing enough? The banks sacrificed NOTHING! The automakers made their own mistakes? WHO created the exotic loans?!?!?!? The BANKS! Ford, Chrysler and GM (Huge American manufacturers) are having to kneel and beg for 30ish billion. The banks have only to pick up a cellphone on a Sunday to get 50 billion! CitiGroup (or is it CitiBank, or CitiMortgage, hard to keep track) gets billions without asking. The benificiary? A Saudi Sheik! Just curious… Are Bush’s, Paulson’s, et al.’s roots/friends in manufacturing, or finance? Hmmm…Is America great because we rocked in manufacturing or because we had a couple of dudes moving pieces of green paper back and forth to each other? For too long we’ve sacrificed our ability to make stuff for the easy life of the banker, the stock broker, etc. We need to get our hands dirty again. We need to develop engineers (their numbers are dropping drastically year after year.) That is the pool from which the Edisons and Fords and Wright Brothers come. We need to be innovative in manufacturing, NOT in lending!

Sandy Murdock
I own a Saturn, but if GM is bailed out I will never ever buy another American CAR never…………I

I second that Sandy!

When United Airlines, Delta, and Northwest Airlines filed for bankruptcy their planes didn’t fall out of the sky did they? People kept flying on those airlines, I know I did. So if one or two of the big three file bankruptcy, I don’t think people will stop buying cars from them.

Gary Klug asked a pertinent question. Where is the bailout money coming from. From the OPEC nations, the Saudis, China. The government is virtually broke. Our tax money is their paycheck. Problem is they can’t make it stretch. I’ve heard different figures raning from 3 to 4 months of taxes collected going to paying interest on our debt to foreign countries. So who bails out America? We can bailout everyone and just run up more and more debt, and I doubt anyone will bail us out. And how about all the money shelled out that wasn’t in the TARP? Did Teasury tell us all about that – how about money given to Enron? Did you hear about that? I think we are headed for a depression or worse. We have to stop all this. If we actually had money that wasn’t borrowed, well maybe…. But all the US government has is a credit card. And I suspect Paulson is in China begging for more and hopping the Chinese don’t wise up and ask for more interest. I fear we are done for one way or another. In the Great Depression, we were a creditor nation. Now we are a debtor nation. I fear the Great Depression is about to be surpassed.

PLEASE, PLEASE don’t give the big 3 a penny. They haven’t produced a viable plan yet and really don’t have one! These CEO buffoons have already proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that they couldn’t manage to find their way out of a wet paper bag. Why give them more money that they can use to temporarily boost stock prices with any buy more time for them to sell their stock options and ride off into the sunset, while the taxpayers are left holding the bag. Bankruptcy is the absolute best solution for getting rid of the incompetent management, uncompetitive union contracts, and operational waste. Only then might we see a long term, successful revival of the American automobile industry.

It seems like the Big “3″ CEO’s have enough money between the three of them to make a loan to the company for which they work for. They do not need that much money…no one needs that much money.

I do not believe what made this country great was a dependence on government aid in times of crisis. I have lived in other countries and there is no country in the world where the average citizen has so many opportunities to succeed in business or otherwise. But with the opportunity to succeed comes the opportunity to fail, learn from mistakes and try again. Good healthy competition always leads to innovation, creativity and progress. If the auto industry or any other industry for that matter is allowed to fail, new innovators will rise up modify, change and something greater will result eventually. Maybe even some of those laid off workers can get re-educated, take some risks and be the leaders that move us forward again. I say let the companies fail and watch the beauty of the American way work itself out.

The bailout is a bad idea. If no private sources will loan you money based on your “plan” then sell additional stock to raise funds. Or sell assets. Or bring in partners. Or consolidate.

Or fail.

But the American public needs to accept responsibility for the bailout when it comes. I will not vote for anyone who has supported any of the bailouts. Period. Never. Hopefully the rest of the voting public will remember and do the same.

Let’s see .. Last week they asked for 25 billion. This week they’re asking for 34 billion. Will they need 43 billion next week? Sounds like my son knows I’m a pushover father and knows he’ll get what ever he asks for.so he ups the ante. I should learn to be a better father and say “No” so I can teach my son a lesson about greed. I want him to be more responsible now so his future will be brighter. I know he’ll do and say anything now to get his money, but I must be strong and put my foot down now and say “No” or not only will he never learn but I’ll never be a good father.

The interesting part of the automakers bailout was accusing them of making cars that people weren’t buying. Is that really true. Last year about 16 million cars were sold and WE people were gladly buying SUVs and Hummers. And why were the automakers being accused? People are as much responsible for global warming, environment and energy saving as automakers.

In the interest of disclosure, it’d be really interesting to have all the members of Congress disclose what vehicles they own. So also the holier than thou media and news reporters, the government agencies.

No one seems have the moral courage nor care for to earn it with being responsible and therefore not in any position to cast aspersions.

That unfortunately is the state of affairs with our society. And in the interest of disclosure myself, we own a Toyota Prius for 3 years and a 3 series BMW and our house is 99% CFL lighting, we do recycle and conserve water and donate a whole bunch of clothes to Salvation Army.

God save America.

I think the auto unions which have fleeced the comman man for money for decades should dip in their coffers and help bail out the Automakers!

This is quite a connundrum. So many jobs are related to the auto industry that if they went under, just one of them even, the fall out would be tremendous, or at least that is a worse case scenario on one side. On the other they get their BILLIONS, with a B to stay afloat and then somehow they change what they have been unable to change for the past 2-3 years at least. Are we that gullable? Can congress not demand a change in leadership or perhaps have a 3rd party help or consult in their change? These same old out of touch millionaires running the company cannot cause change, they are part of the problem, not a solution.

I agree with some of the posters, help them during their bankruptcy/reorganization as needed through tax breaks for auto taxes, have the government control gas prices (yes I think they are capable of having substantial influence in this – see $4.00/gallon 2 months ago to $1.48 today) to help promote auto usage, just what the environment needs. No to the bailout money. It is ludicrous money has gone to banks who have turned around and bought other troubled banks, that is not what the bailout money was intended for.

I am afraid this is just another example of our government demonstrating an inability to manage our tax money, the proverbial $200 hammer, if you will. The banks I reference above should be heavily penalized as should AIG for spending recklessly after being provided “help” money.

We are saps and the rest of the world is laughing at us every day.

Here’s another B-word.

Bankruptcy.

I’m not talking about chapter 7. Chapter 11 has not been explored with any seriousness. Chapter 11 would force the needed changes in the Big 3 and could prevent them from defaulting on this government “loan” due to poor strategies and unreasonable contracts with the Union.

I just don’t understand how we continue to reward poor leadership with benefits that well managed companies will never see. Why doesn’t Tesla Motors get some of this action? They too are an American car manufacturer.

Oh! That’s right… they have good management with a sound business model. I guess that means we need to penalize them!

Why would anyone want to buy a car from a company that is in the process of failing?

How dumb does the Big 3 think the American public is?

I understand the fear of job loss, but these companies are already making us lose jobs. As many have said, most of their plants are overseas. This country’s economy and business has always been based on supply, demand, and how much corporate america could fleece you before you caught on. Back in the day steel was big – they owned everything and everyone, but the government at one point broke them down into littler companies b/c of monopoly issues. When companies have failed in the past nobody stepped into rescue them. They left a vacuum for the next up-and-comer. Corporate america has bought and swindled us good this time all the way from the little guy to the government. They’ve lobbied well. And now they’re fleecing us still. That’s what these bailouts are – more fleecing. Pouring money into companies that refuse to change. How much money they spend on ridiculous bonuses, bad advertising, and relocation of manufacturing to foreign nations.

Last time I had checked the US was a CAPITALIST country. Which means you try – and if you fail… well you fail and you better try again or be poor. If the government keeps with these bailouts we become SOCIALIST or COMMUNIST which last time I read the history books worked out really well for the USSR

This is a joke. People have been losing jobs and getting more poor every day b/c of these greedy corporate buggers and now they have the gall to ask for the help of those they so quickly fleeced and left for broke. It makes me honestly sick!

One simple question that everyone that replied should ask themselves: If you stood before congress as an individual, with the same lack-of-game-plan as the B3 did, and you were in as much of a messs personally as they are heading to, how could you justify accepting the $ without a pay-back plan or budget, and how could you convince them to bail you out, with other taxpayers $? No brainer, let ‘em sink, privatize, give current employees the opportunity to be Hired under a new structure (not re-hired), and quit paying someone $70 per hour to watch a robot assemble a car. If anyone in this country deserves this kind of compensation, it is our military, as it is what has defended the opportunity for freedom and free enterprise, not handouts.

Whatever the result is, I wonder why CEO of Big 3 have never tried to
cut their annual income to a dollar by themselves before congress man asked?

The amounts of money here just takes my breath away..AIG 144 billion dollors? 34 billion? 300 billion..whats next?? Ill tell you..every state in the usa has applyed for BILLIONS!!!! California wants 300 billion.Keep in mind,the movie industry just got a 50 billion christmas present just so they could get the vots for the 700 billion..I read something the other day. I couldnt even stomic reading the artical..700 TRILLION!!!!.. AND NOT ONE PENNY going to tax payers, home owners trying to save there homes….we get to loose our houses,jopbs,and eat out of garbage can!!! Aparntly has long has the big business on wall street are taken care of……(oh…by the wasy theones that created this mess in the first place.)

GM needs to go down in flames and take there union with them..I dont know how rick wagner got to be the ceo..FIRE him now!!!No bonus’s.. and get some one in there who has the BALLS to say no to the union..

How dare the big 3 tell the government they shouldn’t have bailed out the banks and then expect themselves to be bailed out. This whole bailout plan will go down in history as the WORST thing ever done by a government. I just hope we become part of Canada when the USA goes bankrupt itself. I’m disgusted that I have to pay because a bunch of people got/made bad loans and now can’t bail themselves out. The banks should have been allowed to fail to. Let the chaff fall from the wheat.

Hi All
I am from a small place in India. But you must be knowing its a global village now and I am eually aware what it means by bankruptcy of “Circuit city” “Lehman” and probable “GM”
I think globally, personally (right inside my home), office place everywhere its the same principle applicable. There was an excellent email by a restaurant owner from Texas to Mr Obama. He works 12 hours for 7 days, employees 20 or so people, has a debt that he can pay in cash. (Not from bank) in a day. Works out a lot for his health so is not dependent on the health care. happy life I guess.
This is applicable to me and Mr CEO (all 3 of them)
First step is to get read of their private jets. Cool. Does not help. Next step is to get read of OIL itself. (They have to work on that and close that) There is extra talent available than required for this to happen.

Excuse me? $65.00 an hour? My husband has been on the assembly line for chrysler for 10 years and I can tell you that he doesn’t make even half of that. Does he get paid well? Yes. Does he work hard? Yes. Does he push a button 40 times a day? NO. He puts about 6 parts on the truck he is working on while it is moving every 1 minute and 6 seconds. He is climbing in and out of the truck while he is doing this. His hand are cracked and bloody and his back hurts so badly he can’t sit down when he comes home. I’m not asking for pity. Work is hard. Blue collar work is hard. But how DARE you spout your misinformation about what they get paid, because you wrong and what they do while at work, because YOU ARE WRONG!

I would gladly invite you, sir, to work one day on an auto assembly line.
It is definitely not as easy as one would think.
At the facility that I work at, we build 72 vehicles an hour. That’s less than a minute per vehicle…I doubt thst your job is as demanding. Hmm…I’ve never just pushed a button in my 22 year carreer but I have had a hernis a torn rotator sup and carple tunnel in both wrists….go figure…I have such a cushy job!

STRIKE THREE, YOUR OUT!
When that cold day in hell arrives and the congress bails me out for making poor management and product choices, then you can get bailed out.

Otherwise, quit crying and go to Citibank and get a loan like eveybody else has to!

Here’s my idea for a 3-prong/3-year “bail-out” plan, where every major stakeholder chips in or gets an incentive for putting more skin in the game:

1) The company (management & the unions) make the biggest concessions of all — 30% reduction in costs, primarily direct & indirect pay, starting immediately & continuing in 2009, 2010, & 2011, to be revisited only in 2012 & partially eased based on profitability targets to be set today. All bonuses & special perks frozen for 3 years, only deferred compensation allowed & tied to profitability of the companies as of 2012 or later. Let the companies concentrate on making better, less expensive, & more fuel-efficient cars.

2) The American consumer has to be given a sizable incentive to buy American — as counter-intuitive as this may sound in these tough economic times (car sales dropped 30% or 40%, but they’re far from ‘Zero’) — I’m convinced this beats simple hand-outs or cheap loans to the same companies who got themselves into this mess in the first place or even the government taking an equity stake in failing enterprises. The way it might work is simply giving 3-year loans with 0% interest plus instant cash rebates of, say $1,500 to $3,000, to car buyers (higher for smaller & more fuel-efficient models). So, instead of the Auto companies having to take more losses to continue to fund such incentives, a government-backed program setting aside & channeling money thru the banks already benefiting from government/taxpayer bail-out money would act as an indirect economic stimulus — something like a tax rebate check that you can only spend at one of the Big 3 car makers. Home owners have been a primary focus of the $700 Billion bank bail-out, so why not extend it to Car owners & help car makers in the process?

3) The government sets up the incentive plan thru the bailed-out banks, as well as the oversight mechanisms necessary to enforce the changes & cost cuts at the Big 3, as well as the strict emissions & fuel-saving targets to be implemented for as long as a single dollar of taxpayers’ money makes its way to the auto makers. Obviously, the taxpayer remains a major stakeholder in funding & reaping the future benefits of keeping jobs in the U.S., as well as a healthier & more competitive auto industry for the future. I’m pretty sure economists & financial experts can figure how to pay for these incentives & how to recover taxpayer money, as with the failing banks.

Beyond that, let the market take care of the rest and competition ultimately decide who survives. In 2012, if any of the Big 3 is still faltering, tough… then it’s time to pull the plug for good !!

GM made an electric car, EV1, in 1996 because of a mandate in CA for greener emissions. Claiming there’s “no demand”, GM TRASHED the brand new cars and technology despite Americans begging to buy their leased EV1 car.

Watch: “Who Killed the Electric Car?”

These companies made their bed so they can lay in it. “What comes around, goes around”. Let’s invest in companies who utilize technology instead of hiding it.

hellllo stupid government…. didnt we just bail out the banks with tons of money? so let the banks bail out the auto industry. doh! this is so ridiculous.

the car makers and their lending companies (such as ford motor credit and gmac) didnt mind repo’ing YOUR car when YOU were on tough times, why should we care about THEM now?

oh boo hoo hoo

I am 62 years old and I have never seen anything so important and at the same time so many skill, educated people not knowing what to do. If we look at the people in America first, the rest of the answers will be there. 1. Un-employed how do we help the many that have lost their job?. 2. Students in college how can we help them stay in school? 3. People loosing their homes, how do we stop this before it happens? 4. Health care in America, how do we make it better? I am a average person with little knowledge about fixing our economy, but I feel it is important to stop this cycle which had produced a large un-employment rate. There too many people on Capital Hill that do not even know what it is to struggle from day to day. It is hard to understand what it means to not be able to pay your bills if you have money. Have any of the Big 3 men talked to their works, to get a view of what it means to be the one that might not have a job tomorrow? I do not think so, because they would not have arrived in DC in a corp plane. It seems that they spent money on that trip that could have been given to their workers. I do now believe they are in touch with the main issue, that is their workers.