GM, Congress, and You
Lucky me is at jury duty for the next couple of days. So I thought this would be a good time to poll my readers on their thoughts about GM’s survival.
According to everything we have read and heard, GM can do one of three things:
1. Continue as is and shut down.
2. Continue as is and file bankruptcy.
3. Receive a bail-out loan from the government anywhere from $25-$100 Billion.
Without any of my comments on the subject, let us know your thoughts. I can then send to Mr. Levin and perhaps this will put the issue to rest in Washington. Who knows?
Happy Wednesday and Thursday!
November 19th, 2008 at 9:21 am
The loss of GM would have a very negative and costly impact on the World!!
November 19th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I’m not really for bail outs and I do think it will lead to a lot of other companies trying to get bailed out by congress.
Although, with the auto industry I don’t think there really is anything else we can do. Like the person above said it would have such a negative impact on everyone that I think it would only make the economy worse. We’re already having such hard times but if all those workers lose their jobs, I think we’ll have an even tougher time ever bouncing back. I heard on the news today that every 1 out of 10 workers works either directly or indirectly with the auto industry. That’s a lot of people.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:02 am
I believe in learning from our mistakes. However, the mistakes the auto companies have made finacially and otherwise dont just affect them. Those mistakes or poor judgement calls would cost thousands their jobs/livelihoods.
We need the bailout. Take Carnie Wilson, you put her in a skinny body and she’s just going to get fat again. Carnie and the Big 3 need a revised way of thinking or history will repeat itself. It has for both! New people in charge with a different plan would help so this situation won’t happen again.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I agree with Kelly in that you need to learn from your mistakes to grow, so I feel that the bailout might not be the best idea. I think that GM might just find itself in the same position again down the road if they got the bailout. From a people perspective, I think of people that I know that have always had someone to bail them out when they make mistakes…they tend to make the same mistakes over and over again because they know that those people will be there to rescue them. And from a parent perspective, you can’t bailout one child and not the others. While it may end up hurting our economy even more, I think that the government should sit back and let GM climb themselves out of this hole.
November 19th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I agree….if you are going to bail out one company, we are just showing the other 2 that if/when they need help, we will do the same for them. My issue is this, they knew this was happening, it’s not like it happen overnight so why didn’t they try to do things differently before it came to this point? But I am also torn between wanting the bail out and not……Only because I worry that with all the jobs that will be lost, our world will completely change…we will have a higher unemployment rate and the homeless rate will climb due to forclosures. I also worry that with the bailout, it falls on the shoulders of America to pay this back. We are already having hard times trying to make ends meet with our own personal issues…we can’t go to DC and give them our pity party and ask for help….why should they be allowed? These are just my thoughts….
November 19th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
On one hand I agree with the others,about the bailout creating a foundation for this to happen all over again. However, on the other hand, if you are like me, and have a parent who is retired from GM, then you might opt for the bailout, and prevent the retirees from having their pension wiped out. After all, the majority of the retirees, didn’t think far enough ahead to create a “nest egg” in the event that their pension didn’t pan out.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Bail out sucks but I feel it’s a necessary evil.
What happened to Americans buying american cars?
November 19th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Loan ??? Are the tax payers that fund this government bail-out loan going to receive any of the interest that the loan generates ??? If not, no deal.
What’s going to stop GM from squandering this loan and then filing bankruptcy ???
November 19th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I have mixed feelings for the whole situation…..My dad is retird from the big 3…and my brother who has been layed off for almost a year. Anyway, I think the bail out will only help for just a short period of time……what happens in 3 or 4 months from now….when all that money is used up and they are right back where they started……??????
November 19th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I’m not sure about bail outs for GM or anyone else for that matter.
But I do believe in looking at the issue directly & in detail to see where they went wrong.
Help out where they need to be helped but not just give them a check & think it’s going to make everything better.
As stated above we ALL need to learn from our mistakes.
Put someone else in charge? But who would that be?!
Who would make that decision?
Who would be the best candidate?
I believe everyone needs to be responsible for their actions but when it involves honest, hard working citizens, then what do we do?!!
I’m really torn when it comes down to making decisions that affect other people’s lives (families)!
November 19th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I think we are looking at this in the wrong light. GM has been around for years. Many of our grandparents worked hard for Gm as well as our current family memebrs. (at least mine) It is easy to say don’t give the buy-out when it is not your job that is in jeopordy! Can you imagine if your job was hanging over whether your company was given 25-100 billion? As we can see we all feel that GM has faulted and crumbled in the public eye finacially. But the real question is, how do you fix it from within? Who within the company is standing on their soap box fixing the problem? (the big guys in charge) While the money is there and avilable, what should they be doing in the mean time? These are the real questions. How do you get people to revive?
November 19th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I have many family members who have retired from one of the big three and my husband is working for one right now. When the big three go out of business I will leave Michigan along with many others out there just to be able to make it in life.
The big three have an impact on the salons as you can see many hairdressers struggling right now sitting around 8 to 9 hours a day with no customers. No customers equals no money for hairdressers which means no need for supplies.
This will effect our company even more then it already has.
I can not make a choice either way and this will effect me personally.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I feel that with the right agreement plan a bailout should be done. Without this bailout times are going to get worse and not just for america but other countries as well.
Yes, the auto Industry has made some very bad mistakes, but letting these company go under will be an even bigger mistake.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I feel that if the automotive industry dwindles away to nothing it will have a negative impact on an already poor ecoonomy. The job loss alone would heighten the unemployment rate. However, if GM gets this loan from the government I want to know where the repercussions are for the choices they made? They have made poor choices to get them in the situation they are in.
The next issue is should their employee’s suffer for the poor choices the execs made? This is a tough one, maybe they should hit the route of bankrupty with restructure.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
ANONYMOUS……YOU ARE RIGHT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 19th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I dont think giving every company a bail out is a good thing.
However if they dont help the auto industry it will cause a major ripple effect worse than the great depression and it will take years for our country to recover. Cars are the only thing we still make in the United States and they dont just make cars they make weapons and vehicals for the armed forces as well.
Do we not remember not that long ago we had to bail out all the banks? they did exactly the same thing the BIG 3 did they didnt plan ahead. I think I read in a previous post just like in grade school when you bring cookies for the class the teacher would always say” do you have enough for everyone?” the goverment should not have started handing out cookies if they didnt have enough for everyone.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
The bailout is only going to buy them time, I don’t think it is really going to fix anything. Car sales are not going to be going up anytime soon, just like everything else. It’s the ol’ “Monkey see, Monkey do” If they get this bail out EVERY other company that is suffering finacially is going to want a bail out too. I know I could use one!!
November 19th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
The big three have known since before the 80’s they needed to do something to compete with foreign auto companies and really did nothing about it. The higher up’s there make a ridiculous amount of money that is totally unnecessary! The CEO of GM makes over 8.5 million a year and that does not include the bonuses they give themselves. One of the big threes CEO’s lives in Florida and flies back and forth every weekend on the company’s tab! So you want your money going toward this?
The amount of money that gets spent on pensions and health care is also out of hand. What other companies pay their retired employees and gives them great health care years after they have worked for the company? For employees that currently work there, how much time can you get off in a year? How much production time is that lost compared to foreign auto makers?
Another thing that is ridiculous is has anyone tried to buy or lease a car lately? No one is offering deals. If they are hurting so bad why are they not dropping the price of the cars so they are affordable in this economy? I get the family discount from GM and when I leased a car in August I got a Ford because I was offered more at an affordable price than anything GM could offer me with a discount!
My grandma retired from GM and has lived in Florida since 1982 on the pension checks and healthcare she gets. I am afraid for her and her future, but when these big companies are not doing anything but spending it’s hard to see that a bail out is going to help.
I am sure they will get the bail out, if not now, then as soon as Obama gets into office. This is a great opportunity for more government involvement in businesses they should not be regulating.
November 19th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Bail out if they agree to bring the jobs back to the US that they have sent “offshore”, go back to using American suppliers and drastically cut the wages of the executives.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
This is a very heated debate! A news story estimated over 1.6 million people will lose their job, just if the Big 3 jobs and tier 1 suppliers go out of business… what about the Tier 2, and other service industries (like salons) that these people who no longer have a job once frequented?
I think the Big 3 should have to provide a concrete plan to show how they are going to ensure this doesn’t happen again before money gets handed to them.
I also think the government needs to step in when it comes to the imports. It is tough for us to export because of tariffs and other country’s laws, but we make it much easier for them to import their goods, we should really hold imports to the same scrutinization that our exports are held to… just to be fair.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I’m voting for Kate in the next election.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Well my Dad had retired from GM and I just worry about his retirement, will it be affected? What will it do to Detroit for that matter, It will become a ghost town, Michigan will also, Not a good thing!! I think if the housing got a bailout so should the auto industry, it’s only fair.
I agree to buy american so many people have bought foriegn vehicles, I am with GM all the way, the higher up people should be replaced and started all new.
Poor choices have been made YES.. but Michigan needs General Motors.
Think of all the jobs lost.
I think of all the Retirees also.
November 19th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Explain to me when the times were great for the auto makers, when you heard about HUGE BILLION AND BILLION DOLLAR PROFITS, WHERE HAS ALL THAT MONEY GONE???
November 20th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I also have family in the BIG 3. Retired father and lost a ton in what he thought would be a million dollar retirment. Brother ready to retire. I think that they should file bankruptcy and restructure. Oh and I wonder how many of the Ceo’s and upper management drive foreign auto’s? I bought American and didn’t get the exact car that i wanted just a couple of months back due to wanting to support the Big 3. Sore subject with me.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Thanks Ryan!
Quick thought about “foreign” cars. Yes, foreigners do own the companies, but I had a Honda that was made in Solon, OH. and a Toyota that was built in Mississippi. American workers.
Here’s a blurb from Toyota’s website:
In 13 locations across North America, more than 36,000 team members are producing over 1.3 million vehicles, more than 1.5 million engines, and nearly 400,000 automatic transmissions per year. In fact, 11 Toyota and Lexus models are built in North America with parts purchased from hundreds of North American supplier locations.
http://www.toyota.com/about/our_business/operations/manufacturing/index.html
Why are they not asking for money? Perhaps our “American” automakers should take some lessons. I am PRO American by the way. I have a Buick and a Ford and have previously had Olds, Jeep, Dodge, Lincoln and Cadillac. Honestly, my Toyota lasted the longest with 268,000 miles on the odometer when I sold it. Hmmm.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I do know that Kate. The kickback goes where????
November 20th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I’m sure they will get there money. Why you ask? Politicians are running the hearings. Politicians are elected officials who are reelected with a great deal of help from lobbyist. Auto unions are one of the largest lobbyist in Washington. What politician is going to say no to the people who can reelect them.
November 20th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Wow Kate is on top!!!
You go girl!!
November 20th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
If GM is not helped with a LOAN then I guarantee that you will have an immediate family member, close friend and possibly yourself that will lose their job. They need to have restraints on the loan and expect to be repaid before any stock holder or executive gets a cent. I am a GM stockholder and would not want it any other way!!!!!!!!
November 20th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
It’s like putting a band-aid over a wound that need staples, or stiches:(
November 20th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I don’t believe that they deserve the bail out money. Especially after flying to Washington in their private jets (that cost an estimated $20,000 by the way). With that being said, the bail out money is needed. If only to keep the big three a float for the time being while they attempt to right the ship. The alternative of them folding has the potential to cripple the michigan economy.
I think the money needs to come with stipulations. First the money has to be used for day to day operations only. Second, the CEO’s should take a drastic paycut (GM’s CEO makes 14 million a year, Ford’s made 21 million last year).