Auto Bailout.......

[omelette'smom]

I agree with the post about unions being the root of the problem and not to be crass but...........anyone who goes bankrupt is stealing from me!!

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Probably someone has already said this but I would love to see the oil moguls bail out the auto industry..tit for tat.. bet there would be some more energy efficient cars on the road if they oil and auto married!!

 

[TexasJoe]

Quote:
Isn't it funny that the SAME people who print the money DETERMINE it's value (fiat currency) AND they are a private bank!! They print money out of thin air and then charge interest against it!!! CRIMINAL!! A federal banking system was THE WORST NIGHTMARE to some of the GREATEST founders of our country..and yet it came about roughly a century ago. We are suckers getting played.


Why should we bail out a CORPORATION? They have shareholders who are responsible for the risk (just as they have ALWAYS been happy to take all the profits they can get). Why should I LOSE money in my ventures due to "the recession", only to bail out other's failed risks? I can not believe this country has fallen to such Socialist policies. At this point, it's all just FUNNY to me because I've lost any hope of reviving our long dead Golden Age.
The worst part was the the Big-3 CEOs and the UAW guy arrived in D.C. on PRIVATE JETS when they have come to GROVEL for handouts. One of the senators actually asked them if they were willing to sell their jets if the gov't bailed them out (like Sarah Palin tried to do when she took over office in Alaska)!!! haha. those guys looked like they had just seen their grandmother naked. classic : put an overpaid CEO on the spotlight for his misdeeds.

The reality : GM, Ford and Chrysler have been making inefficient vehicles with OVERPAID Union labor for too long...and now they are NO LONGER competetive in the current market, NOR WILL THEY EVER BE! I bought a brand new Toyota micro car 2 years ago before this situation ever came up. WHy should i have to pay to bailout others who were either too stupid or too arrogant to make the right choice themselves.

Oh, and this CROCK about how GM has "more 30mpg+ vehicles than anyone" is a TOTAL SCAM! Just because you sell the SAME car (same chassis, same engine, different bumpers and paint colors) under 3 different brands (GM, Chevy, Pontiac) DOES NOT MAKE IT 3 different cars!! Your Chevy Cobalt does not COUNT 3 times, GM!! It's criminal in my opinion. Completely misleading the people with their own ignorance. Oh, and how about those advertisement for the trucks that go "over 400 miles without filling up"...they just don't mention that it's got a 60 gallon gas tank. Those commercials came out a few months after Toyota boasted the Prius as "being able to go over 400 miles without filling up", but they should've specified "11.1 gallons".

Grrr..sorry for rant

 

[HennysMom]

Quote:
Lea -

I feel terrible for those that work in the auto industry - I do - however - people are losing jobs EVERYWHERE, not just in MI. People are getting laid off all over the US from big industries and retailers - here in VA Philip Morris (whether you smoke or not, support it or not, its someone's job and livlihood regardless) laid off hundreds upon hundreds and closed its doors - again. BC/BS in Richmond laid off hundreds, Citigroup = hundreds - I could go on and on just in the state of VA; its the same everywhere across the US.

Per the auto industry and the "big 3" start at the top and cut there, period. I have a hard time with sympathy for these CEO's of these companies crying whoa is me when they state "if we close 200 plants out of 1700 even though they're doing poorly, it will cost us too much $$, but give us $$ taxpayers to save us"

You HAVE to cut somewhere if you want to save your company - people are going to lose their jobs regardless - just like every other company out there has had to do. Its not a nice thing, they dont like laying people off and closing plants/stores etc, but its a necessity to keep other stores afloat in the economic crisis we face.

 

[TexasJoe]

Quote:
Lea -

I feel terrible for those that work in the auto industry - I do - however - people are losing jobs EVERYWHERE, not just in MI. People are getting laid off all over the US from big industries and retailers - here in VA Philip Morris (whether you smoke or not, support it or not, its someone's job and livlihood regardless) laid off hundreds upon hundreds and closed its doors - again. BC/BS in Richmond laid off hundreds, Citigroup = hundreds - I could go on and on just in the state of VA; its the same everywhere across the US.

Per the auto industry and the "big 3" start at the top and cut there, period. I have a hard time with sympathy for these CEO's of these companies crying whoa is me when they state "if we close 200 plants out of 1700 even though they're doing poorly, it will cost us too much $$, but give us $$ taxpayers to save us"

You HAVE to cut somewhere if you want to save your company - people are going to lose their jobs regardless - just like every other company out there has had to do. Its not a nice thing, they dont like laying people off and closing plants/stores etc, but its a necessity to keep other stores afloat in the economic crisis we face.

Why don't you leave if there is no job opportunity, much less hope or a community? To me, it's nonsense to ask me for help WHEN YOU KNOW that the area is failing with the only hope of "making it through" being a government handout. I would have more pride than that, but I don't know your situation. I just know that Detroit is a dying city with VERY little to NO potential. Don't blame me, thank your congressmen and the unions..you can probably do it all at once since they have been in bed together since the UAW's "prestigious" emergence. Meh...move to Texas, we have plenty of jobs here that pay well..you just gotta get your hands dirty and REALLY work..not beg. U people don't get it! Don't threaten me with that "if my area fails we will drag you down with us" routine...you only give me 10x the apathy. I have NEVER received a handout FROM ANYONE, and I have given my last dollar to help others..but my generosity is only extended to those who CAN'T HELP THEMSELVES, NOT THOSE THAT ARE UNWILLING. Your reasons for why I should help you only tell me that you know what's in store for your area and yet you are unwilling to do something about it yourself. Support your family, make the brave decision to leave and start new somewhere else. I made (and lost) my own fortunes in life, and I'm PREPARED for an end to non-bartering trade systems. Are you?


edit to remove flame

 

[HennysMom]

Joe -

let's be realistic here, I dont think its that easy to just up and leave for most people, do you? If the economy is in crisis in any state, housing market is in a decline, you dont have a job - how are you supposed to just "get up and move?"

Example: Katrina..... - enough said.

ETA: and yes, some people took advantage (and still are) of Katrina... so I'm on the fence on it still - but for the most part - I supported the assitance.

 

[TexasJoe]

Quote:
Is that better than staying somewhere that YOU KNOW is failing? Animals have BETTER instincts than that, don't you think?

I have traveled almost 8000 miles for work this year. I work for UPS doing seasonal work (which gets me back to Texas every year to see my family, and my only "guaranteed" pay check) . I have worked in a "dude ranch" in Australia (well, 2007 actually), hostels in Amsterdam and Cordoba, and manual labor in Thailand..and I have a 5 year old daughter here in Texas. No, it's not easy...but it's easier than letting my child go without due to my expectation that others will "make it better".

Katrina would be easy to leave, everything was destroyed and the gov't handed out FAT CHECKS in excess of what any of it was worth. That is 100x easier than having to leave a house that you have to sell with negative money (mortgage on house you can't live in because it's not near work). There are DOZENS of gov't programs ALREADY in place for those types of situations, and they are utterly abused (KATRINA is PERFECT EXAMPLE of what happens when people are unwilling to make their own decisions on their safety/future. "JUST LET THE GOV'T TAKE CARE OF IT" <--i'll put it on Uncle Sam's epitaph

Oh, and as far as Phillip Morris goes, i don't have much sympathy for people who work in "Sindustries"..they need to realize that they get paid for making people sick and therefore not be upset when people STOP SMOKING! Do you know HOW MUCH better this country would be if that INDUSTRY WENT UNDER? I feel the same about the Big-3..they are a cancer on the system eating away at perfectly healthy systems and using precious resources in the process. Things are gonna change, and if you are not willing or able to be dynamic then there is little I can do for you. I've already got one unproductive, ignorant person living off of me, the difference is that she's 5 years old and MY RESPONSIBILITY. U R NOT.

 

[HennysMom]

well then you must be very fortunate to be able to have that ability to travel the world, and visit your family - i.e, have money, right? Most people do not have that type of job/allowances in their life.

I'll give credit where credit is due my friend - but for some reason I do not think Leah or her family are just sitting on their backsides "doing nothing".

And if you've never had to accept a hand-out in your lifetime - consider yourself very very fortunate in your lot - because most human beings have at some point in time, be it from another person, an organization, a church, family, whatever.... I know I have when I became disabled and lost my fed. gov't job and I am VERY grateful for my social security disability I get every month. Are you saying that I'm a lowlife for accepting monies I paid into a system for years and years? Hmmm?

I said I was on the fence with Katrina and I used it as an example of how people can not just "up and leave" during a time of crisis as you so wish them to do. I'm not going to debate it with you on all accounts...it will be tit-for-tat and not my style.

Obviously you are very fortunate to have your life - just know that in your fortune - others are not so blessed as you are - count your lucky stars for that my friend

OMG - You called your 5 yo child an "unproductive, ignorant person living off of me" ?? HOLY COW!

 

[TexasJoe]

Quote:
HAHA! I knew you were gonna make me out to be a rich kid. Classy. Actually, I was raised poor in the middle of Oklahoma...and I still have nothing to my name except my honor and my word...but that's more than enough for me to survive.
My travel is paid for by the businesses I work for because THEY KNOW I WILL PRODUCE results. And, my parents are poor and live in my house (I bought from them when they retired, thanks to Xerox Corp's involuntary retirement to my father). Now, you know that I have to keep a house as well, the difference is I don't use it as an excuse to beg. I work and rise above it.

Lowlife for being disabled and accepting money? No. Perfectly healthy people asking for money under the guise that "there is no opportunity around them"? Yes. Again, you are using existing systems, not asking for additional handouts due to "the recession".
Sorry for my lack of clarity. The BEST part about not working in the USA 9 months of the year is not dealing with people who feel so SELF-ENTITLED like Americans. lol. The constitution did not guarantee Happiness, just the pursuit thereof.

 

[HennysMom]

obviously you havent read my posts - all of them - on this thread.

Have a good day