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Meanwhile across town, Ford ups the ante with an improved product line and no bail out money.
Disaster? The Federal government is set to make money off of the whole deal and the entire US auto industry was saved (according to Ford, Toyota, and Honda who all lobbied for it and said their parts suppliers would all go bust thus harming their business). Don't worry, I know it feels bad to have been wrong on this issue and you don't like giving Obama any credit but at least the US government will be out of GM stock soon and the taxpayers will get a nice tidy profit so that should help cheer you up.
I don't think there's a person on this planet that believes the taxpayers are going to come out ahead on the GM bailout.
I hear you, but whether we as taxpayers come out ahead is hard to pin down.
GM is already going to pay back some, maybe they'll pay back the rest in time maybe not. They've had hefty profits in a down economy that is showing more and more signs of turning around, so it isn't outside the realm of reasonable possibility that they will pay back all the money.
Then you have the much harder to quantify effect of all those GM employees (and thousands of employees of their suppliers) keeping their jobs, buying stuff, paying mortgages, paying income taxes, not collecting unemployment, etc. and their effect on other companies in their communities. I know it doesn't happen in a vacuum and many of them would have found jobs elsewhere but bottom line that is a huge, huge manufacturing entity in America that is still here churning out product and currently doing it profitably.
Who knows, but I'm not quite ready to classify the GM money as flushed down the toilet.
I'll be trusting my real world experience in such matters.
I didn't buy a new 1 ton Ford last year because Ford was solvent .. I bought it because Dodge sells some pretty expensive plastic, and Chevy produced two vehicle fires for me in 8 years.
The Camaro burned on Lolo pass pass in 2001, and the Silverado burned 17 miles north of Helena in 2009 ..
I was a Dodge fan even when the ugly old Dodge trucks of the 60's were all of the rage. I quit Dodge and went to Chevy in the mid 90's and now, given the expense of having to deal with those two, I've gone to Ford.
Chevy, over the past years, has relied too heavily on their sharp design styles, all the while ignoring their mechanical/drive train.
Dodge, for all of their efforts, can't build cars or trucks anymore at all .. by that I mean, if I really wanted a Mitsubishi, I would buy one.
I hear you, but whether we as taxpayers come out ahead is hard to pin down.
GM is already going to pay back some, maybe they'll pay back the rest in time maybe not. They've had hefty profits in a down economy that is showing more and more signs of turning around, so it isn't outside the realm of reasonable possibility that they will pay back all the money.
Then you have the much harder to quantify effect of all those GM employees (and thousands of employees of their suppliers) keeping their jobs, buying stuff, paying mortgages, paying income taxes, not collecting unemployment, etc. and their effect on other companies in their communities. I know it doesn't happen in a vacuum and many of them would have found jobs elsewhere but bottom line that is a huge, huge manufacturing entity in America that is still here churning out product and currently doing it profitably.
Who knows, but I'm not quite ready to classify the GM money as flushed down the toilet.
Well I certainly hope that they continue to show profits, even if I don't like their products and never plan to buy one (Toyota/Honda person myself). And I do agree that there are numerous unmeasurable benefits of having those thousands of employees remain employed, but it's a slippery slope to ask the government to get involved. Government should not be intervening in the business affairs of private corporations. It just doesn't sit right with me and that's not the role of government in my opinion.
Meanwhile across town, Ford ups the ante with an improved product line and no bail out money.
Does GM and Chrysler collectively make more than seven models of cars?
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