[MBA_Mom]

I have been following the news/papers/radio reporting on the Big 3 Bailout and I guess I just wondered what do people really think about bailing the auto makers out. I live in Southeast Michigan and personally know a lot of people who would be affected by a collapse of the Big 3; moreover, I think the trickle down affect would touch all of us no matter what industry we work in. There is some consensus in Washington that a fallout of the Big 3 would only really harm Detroit. First of all I feel that is unfounded b/c the Big 3 don't only operate in Michigan and besides that there are thousands of small part plants across the US that would be affected by this. I don't know the solution to this problem, but it seems that not giving them any money will hurt a lot more people in the long run versus coming up with some type of plan.
Is anyone out there actually an employee/retiree/recently layed off from one of the Big 3? If so, any thoughts/concerns you want to get out.

[brokerdave]

no. give the money to honda and toyota. we will see better vehicles and more american jobs than the 3 can offer.

just because thy claim bankruptcy doesn't mean they will be out of business. they will just be court ordered to restructure and sell assets, which btw they have to much of as it is. they thousands upon thousands of vacant land they are sitting on, time to sell it off!

[topshop]

Originally Posted by MBA_Mom

I have been following the news/papers/radio reporting on the Big 3 Bailout and I guess I just wondered what do people really think about bailing the auto makers out. I live in Southeast Michigan and personally know a lot of people who would be affected by a collapse of the Big 3; moreover, I think the trickle down affect would touch all of us no matter what industry we work in. There is some consensus in Washington that a fallout of the Big 3 would only really harm Detroit. First of all I feel that is unfounded b/c the Big 3 don't only operate in Michigan and besides that there are thousands of small part plants across the US that would be affected by this. I don't know the solution to this problem, but it seems that not giving them any money will hurt a lot more people in the long run versus coming up with some type of plan.
Is anyone out there actually an employee/retiree/recently layed off from one of the Big 3? If so, any thoughts/concerns you want to get out.

I'm not a Big3 employee, but I am a Michigan resident which means this will effect me, my family and my employees.

On one hand, just taking the issue by itself, it is a lousy concept. Just a dumb idea.

On the other hand, the feds have thrown nearly $8 trillion into this mess so far...most of it with little or no accountability for anyone. If the Big3 go down, the effect on Michigan will be devastating. We are already 50th or close to it in dozens of economic stats. Michigan could turn into an unimaginable wasteland.

Which way to go on this is a very difficult call.

[northstar22]

Absolutely not. No bailouts!

[Westbury]

They are asking for a LOAN...not a bailout. A bailout is the billions of dollars the government passed on to the financial institutions, no questions asked. At least the auto execs and the UAW are offering up some significant cutbacks. The United States has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs that went overseas over the past several years. We can't continue to allow that to happen.

[Michigansnowflake]

YEs, give them the loan, or life as we ALL know it will cease to exist!

[MBA_Mom]

When I said bailout I was referring to bailing them out of their situation with a viable plan...not necessarily just giving them the money.

I agree with you that a lot of jobs have been lost overseas, but I think the solution goes beyond that. I had an ex-boyfriend who worked on the line at Ford; he had a high school diploma ONLY and no experience made $50,000+++ a year (including overtime). On the other hand I, with a BA and an MBA, my first job after I graduated with my MBA I worked at Chase as a personal banker making $28,000 base. Now, that's not horrible, but there is obviously a HUGE disparity in those figures. Maybe some people won't agree with me, but I think the line workers are being paid a bit much. I think the plan will have to encompass all of these things; lost jobs overseas, high cost of cars, overpaid workers, more efficicent technology, fuel efficient cars, etc. For the people who are saying no to a loan or any type of government help I guess I just wonder what will we do if the Big 3 does fail? The trickle down effect will be more foreclosures, more bankruptcy, greater dependency on state aid (FIA), etc. So, either way it goes there has to be a plan in place.

[brokerdave]

Originally Posted by Westbury

They are asking for a LOAN...not a bailout. A bailout is the billions of dollars the government passed on to the financial institutions, no questions asked. At least the auto execs and the UAW are offering up some significant cutbacks. The United States has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs that went overseas over the past several years. We can't continue to allow that to happen.

the big 3 are so big they cant see beyond themselves. they do what they want to do. ford and gm don't even consider themselves an american company, they like to be called multinational corporation. but now they are american because they have there hand out.

they are failing because they keep doing what everyone knows what they shouldn't be doing for over 15 years now. they produce an inferior product with inferior quality. they have done nothing to improve fuel efficiency. the attempts they have done were and are very weak.

what happened to the EVO? the electric car from the mid 90's? 10,000 people ordered cars and pre-paid, but the still didn't manufacture it. now they are claiming how wonderful flexfuel will be. come on, wake up. another failed design. ethanol isn't cheaper than gas. not to mention its another fuel that will have to be grown and produced.

why aren't they leading the industry with a electric/gas/ethanol/compressed natural gas/liquid natural gas vehicles? they already got $25 billion to design this stuff they already designed over 10 years ago. its pathetic.

if i had control of either gm or ford, i could turn it around in 2 years np and become the world leader in auto manufacturing/sales. it takes 4-6 weeks to retool a plant, hell i might even be able to do it in 1 year.

honda and toyota have been more american made for almost 15 years now. so the fact that each plant in mexico/india is 1/20th the cost and they still cant turn a profit is absurd. honda accord 2009 is 97% american made. that is impressive and somehow they are making just as much if not more. probably more knowing the japs.

red flags everywhere.

fyi, i personally don't think the UAW incomes are to blame or are even anything to worry about. being from detroit area i know that there are 1000's of "executives" most of whom get free vehicles to drive or severely discounted. the problems with the UAW are they protect criminals and druggies, which should be 0 tolerance. there are a lot of loopholes that most take advantage of, 1 of which is you only have to work 4.5 hours to get a full days pay, etc. the list goes on.

[aurorawatcher]

Yes I think we should bail them out just like we did with AIG, CitiCorp and the others. At least me may see something from the big 3 as compared to the Wall St groups who have as of yet not made loans or that easier for people. They have spent it on luxury spas and to buy other assets.
And it will keep people working. But yes they will need to take cuts and restructure the way they do business thats all.

[Dexterguy]

YES! Give the Detroit big three a LOAN, this is what it would be, so this is what it should be called.

There are MILLIONS of jobs at stake that congress is just playing with right now! It's hard for me to believe that it is taking this long to make a decision.