It would be a shame if anything were to happen to it…
“We’re on the brink with the U.S. auto manufacturing industry,” Press told The Associated Press in an interview. “If we have a catastrophic failure of one of these car companies, in this tender environment for the economy, it’s a huge blow. It could trigger a depression.”
I’d be inclined to take this more seriously if it weren’t coming from someone asking the taxpayers for a multi-billion-dollar handout.
What do I consider a demonstration that the auto makers are “changing their ways”? Answer: They enter bankruptcy court. At this point, anything less really doesn’t cut it.
agreed. Plus, don’t we have a number of automakers in the US? How are the companies NOT based in Michigan holding up?
We have bankrupcy law for a reason….
pity nobody said this about the bankers.
It can be argued that banks are different from a single manufacturing sector (or even a few companies within that sector), in that they represent the lifeblood of the economy itself. At least, that was the argument made at the time.
The carmakers argue that bankruptcy would be bad because customers would be reluctant to buy from a bankrupt company, since they could not expect service or parts to remain available.
I would argue they are already in that state.
>== don’t we have a number of automakers in
> the US? How are the companies NOT based in
> Michigan holding up?
As long as they steer clear of the Unions, and don’t have the legacy cost of union contracts made decades ago, they are doing great. Honda, BMW, Mercedes, etc build in the US to export the cars back home adn to the world. If not. Well I’m from Kenosha Wisconsin – which used to have American Motors. Same union and cost issues as the big 3. Unions wouldn’t bend and they died, got bought out by Chrysler, who also shut most of it down.
Bankrupcy would likely help the big 3 since they could break the old union contracts. Course that’s exactly why Congress will do back flips to prevent it.
A substantive majority of Americans, probably including all the non-Detroit taxpayers, oppose the bailout. Our congressional overlords, Nancy Pelosi et. al. eschew bankrupcy because the Democratic party is owned by the unions.
Here is one speech made on the floor of the House that suggested banks should be allowed to fail like any other business. Pity some people weren’t paying attention.
The big three pay in combined benefits and salary about $70.00 per employee average. Their competitors here in the US pay about $35.00. Giving them low cost or no interest loans is like placing an air mattress under a sinking car. It may buy you a few minutes but no one is solving the math problem.