Should Gov bailout automakers too?

[Pat Coyle]

So how's the bailout going so far? And what do you think about the Big 3 Automakers plea for Federal loans?
Hear's what one maverick says...
From Mark Cuban's Blog: You all do realize that anyone who buys a new car is UNDERWATER the minute you sign the papers and drive off the lot ? That you get further and further underwater every single day ? Maybe thats why so few are buying new cars ? We havent instituted a bailout for their underwater car loans.

Is this history repeating?. Read this story from NY Times

Share your thoughts here

[Steve Stuck]

Then I guess government spending and programs need to start being cut in order for us to be financially sustainable. I say we start with the Department of Education and Food Stamp programs.

Next up, the IRS with the implementation of the Fair Tax............this will respectively bring an additional $13 Trillion in investment that is currently sitting in offshore accounts.

[Matt Zentz]

I'm waiting for a subscription car service so I don't have to worry about maintenance or age. If I subscribe to the Gold level service I'll get a new BMW every 2 years (or some equivalent). If I subscribe to silver, I'll get a new Ford Fusion every 2 years. If I subscribe to the bronze level, I'll get a used Ford Fusion every 2 years. There's a way to fix the "underwater" part of buying a new car.

The problem with the big 3 is that they're systems of distribution and labor are so old and established that they can't adjust to change effectively. If they change, they cut off a significant piece of their extended infrastructure and people lose jobs (small business suppliers, retailers, etc). If they go bankrupt, people lose jobs. People are going to lose jobs any way this thing goes - with or without a bailout.

[Scott Emmett]

The way to fix "flipped" cars is to keep them until they fall apart. The method I now use ( after buying too many cars) is I keep them until the wholesale value of the car is equal to or exceeds its average annual maintenance costs. I have a 1996 Chevrolet that still gets daily use and has not yet met that criteria. I have followed the maintenance schedule to the letter and would drive it to California tomorrow. Also have a 2001 Saab that I'll keep until the wheels fall off.

Course, if we all did this, I'd starve to death. Well, this post is about the bail out. They will wind up doing something. They'll have to.

[Eric Griffin]

Unfortunately the automakers touch 1 in 10 jobs here in the US and we can't overlook that. A big reason we were successful in WWII was due to our manufacturing capabilities. Ford was building Jeeps and Cadillac was building tanks etcetera. That being said I really don't think we need we need to be opening the checkbook for the automakers. They need to look inward for cuts. No more private planes, and country club memberships for the families of the execs. I am all for making money, but their salaries and bonuses are out of hand. Rick Wagoner got a 33% increase in salary this year for his performance in 2007. By the way GM lost almost 39 billion in 2007.

They need to do something about their out of control benefits too. A person retires making $65K a year and continues making $65k a year with free healthcare for life. Where can I sign up for that?

I know President Bush isn't the most popular person, but he had it right. He told the automakers to use the $25 billion the government has already given them for energy efficient car research since they weren't obviously using it for that.

[Joshua Billington]

Fox News headline "Congress to Automakers: No Plan, No Bailout"

Isn't this a given, or shouldn't it be? If I have to submit a detailed business plan to apply for a $10,000 SBA loan, then why would the Big 3 expect a $25 billion bailout grant with no detail or conditions, other than the testimony of their jet-setting execs? For the record, I do not support the bailout, even though I know it will further sandbag the already sluggish economy. Where do we draw the line?

Makes me wonder if we had detailed plans from the mortgage industry before their payout was finalized.

[Trevor Bradburn]

IF the government would have just taken that 70 billion dollars they gave in the first bailout and divided it equally amongst all the tax paying citizens we would have seen a reverse trickle effect and the economy would be on its way back up.

[Hazel "The Queen" Walker]

Let them file bankrupt and let them shut down some of their dealerships. Big Oil Companies & Big 3 new this was coming and they have done nothing to prevent it. As I stated in my blog on this subject last night.......US Auto Pays $38 per hour per person on average, whild Honda and Toyota average $18. Maybe it's time to do way with the AUL.

I am going to cash in my retirement, all my investments and buy me a Tesla!

[Brian Morgan]

>>>

For me this is too big of a topic requiring too much understanding of the dynamics of the US Economy, Auto Industry, and the like.

I guess in a perfect American World: the News-Media would be able to track and publish actual monthly statistics for each County and make us aware of where we (consumers) are sending our dollars. Making us able to know more accurately how to support our own Economy - if in fact that was a dynamic we could affect through our conscious spending habits...anyway ...

- Brian Morgan

[Arik Flanders]

Nope. They've always controlled there own fate.