GM Govt. Bailout?

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

No, see, I don't think you guys understand. You can't just completely disenfranchise 1 million + American workers, many of which came out of high school and directed their lives towards one industry. Those million people (who pay taxes too, by the way) are innocent victims of a much smaller contingent at the top.

Yeah, right..... "disenfranchise". Where's my franchise, Charles?

They earn more than I earn now. They didn't get a college degree or tech school degree like me. They went "into the Mill" as we put it hereabouts.

They didn't "pay their dues" working scut work, then finally getting an entry level job, then working their way up the ladder earning experience.

They didn't, after many years of working, get a decent job, then get another decent job. They didn't eat shit from stupid bosses, instead they got settled into a routine and whenever the Boss got out of line they whined to their Union Steward.

They joined the UAW and got a job in an assembly line. They got a pension, they got great health benefits, and they lived the middle class life. Doing work that was easier than any job I ever worked in my life, excluding perhaps McDonald's.

Certainly their work was safer than my experience in Dialysis, where I was exposed to Hepatitis and AIDS every day, or when I could have been fried or burned in other jobs. What could happen to them? Get burned by the spot welder? Get gagged by the paint booth? Maybe drop a part on their toes? Get squashed by a load improperly slung (I risk that too today)?

Sorry, Charles, my sympathy, and those of people who today work in Wal-Mart, Target and other "service jobs" only goes so far. I for one am sick and tired of Organized Labor and their "You owe me" routine.

They can take their "franchise" and stuff it.

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

The question is how do you provide help to the industry and ensure that this won't happen again. There has to be oversight, but to what extent? Yes, this is the government dipping hands into the private sector. Yes, it is mildly socialist... but the alternative would put some towns to bed and throw millions of people into an already bleak job market. Don't forget those workers have families... they'll suffer, too.

Yeah, where was all of this bailout money when I needed it....? I've been laid off seven times in my life. Aside unemployment, which I pay into every paycheck, I never got a dime. Never asked for it either, but never got it offered to me.

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

I think what you'll see is a bailout and then a phased retooling of the industry to make it more compact and specialized. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the offshoot makes (Saturn, Mercury, etc.) are discontinued and more focus put into the major brands that own them. A section of the bailout will probably be earmarked for R&D, and these companies are going to be expected to be turning out a much more viable product IE: no more Dodge Challengers and other absolutely moronic business moves. Lets see some innovation. Where is the damn petroleum-free vehicle?!

The Challenger was a good idea. It sold well.

As far as "petroleum free vehicle".... hey, lead the way, my man. Nobody is stopping you from electrifying your Yaris.

Of course there isn't enough electricity generating capacity in the US to completely replace the US fleet. A little simple arithmetic and dimensional analysis will bear that one out fast.

A nice fuel efficient car would do, except that the average American consumer won't buy it. My Yaris is the poorest accelerating vehicle I've ever owned. I have friends who are afraid to ride in it. I have one friend who is too obese to fit in it. I really like my Yaris but I know what the average American likes and that's not it.

Gene