Obama Wants Government Czar For Auto Industry

[red states rule]

A majority of voters wanted change - and they will get change.

This is not the change the voters wanted or the change Obama told us he would push for


Obama Pushes for $50 Billion for Automakers, Oversight Czar

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama is pushing Congress this year to approve as much as $50 billion to save cash-starved U.S. automakers and appoint a czar or board to oversee the companies, a move that would require President George W. Bush's support, people familiar with the matter said.

Obama's economic advisers are now convinced that if General Motors Corp. doesn't get a financial lifeline soon, it will have to file for bankruptcy by the end of January. And if the companies don't get almost $50 billion, Obama will be dealing with the issue again by next summer.

Any czar or board would be patterned after the bailout of Chrysler in 1979 and New York City in 1975. Advisers such as former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers are said to be telling Obama that the cash is urgently needed now.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/ablcucxr33jw

[Mr. P]

The floodgate has been opened with the first bail-out plan. (which isn't working as advertised). I say let em file bankruptcy and deal with the market they seem to not be able to compete in..TUFF!

This bail-out shit needs to END NOW!

[red states rule]

The floodgate has been opened with the first bail-out plan. (which isn't working as advertised). I say let em file bankruptcy and deal with the market they seem to not be able to compete in..TUFF!

This bail-out shit needs to END NOW!

Well the Dems are ready to spread the money in the US Treasury around - even if it is not there

If the big three fail, it will be due to nothing other than the culmination of 40 years of government involvment in the auto industry.

Democrats allowed the unions to gain so much power over their employers that the employers now have nothing more to give.

Democrats have regulated so much of our industry into history it's sickening

The Dem's have successfully created a myth that they are all about the "working man" while continuing to pass laws and regulations which destroy industries which should be employing more and more people every year.

How about just for once instead of repeating the mistakes of history Dem's actually look at reality and get the hell out of the way?

Break the Unions and cut taxes, relax punitive and unnecessary regulations and let the American Industrial engine fire back up and grow us out of our current hole.

[namvet]

yep the big 3 are screaming for their hand out to.............

[No1tovote4]

If you think the goal of liberals is socialism, then we have reached liberal Mecca. Each of these "bailouts" are loans "in exchange for" a huge chunk of company. We are nationalizing these businesses. There are two forms of government that do this, Socialism and....? Anybody?

[Mr. P]

If you think the goal of liberals is socialism, then we have reached liberal Mecca. Each of these "bailouts" are loans "in exchange for" a huge chunk of company. We are nationalizing these businesses. There are two forms of government that do this, Socialism and....? Anybody?

Starts with a C.

[5stringJeff]

There's always Ireland or Australia, if you want to move to a free country.

http://www.heritage.org/Index/topten.cfm

[red states rule]

There's always Ireland or Australia, if you want to move to a free country.

http://www.heritage.org/Index/topten.cfm

We got through Carter, and we will get through Obama

Even though it will be harder, and more to clean up

[Yurt]

There's always Ireland or Australia, if you want to move to a free country.

http://www.heritage.org/Index/topten.cfm

i must be misreading your post

you cannot mean that if we disagree with current government we must move elsewhere...or do you mean...that if we hate the form of government so much, that no matter the change, we should leave?

[LiberalNation]

The alternative being letting them collapse which would be really bad for a lot of people. GM is one of the few big manufactures still left in this country and employee a lot of people. Do you wana have all the cars made in Japan.

[red states rule]

The alternative being letting them collapse which would be really bad for a lot of people. GM is one of the few big manufactures still left in this country and employee a lot of people. Do you wana have all the cars made in Japan.

If they make a better product - yes

You can thank the unions for the shape the car makers are in, as well as a lousy work ethic

[manu1959]

you all do know congress already gave them 50 billion just before they voted to give the banks700 billion....

[red states rule]

you all do know congress already gave them 50 billion just before they voted to give the banks700 billion....

and keep the books open. Look at the state of MI and you will see what high taxes, big government, liberalism, and unions can do to the economy

[LiberalNation]

and a bad business model producing a bad product. It wasn't just the unions alone.

[red states rule]

and a bad business model producing a bad product. It wasn't just the unions alone.

Do you have any idea what the Big 3 are paying workers who no longer work for them?

What their labor cost is compared to Japan?

[5stringJeff]

i must be misreading your post

you cannot mean that if we disagree with current government we must move elsewhere...or do you mean...that if we hate the form of government so much, that no matter the change, we should leave?

I think you're misreading my post. Read the DP blog.

[LiberalNation]

where is it.

[5stringJeff]

http://blog.debatepolicy.com/

[red states rule]

So where does it stop? Be bailed out idiots who bought homes they could not afford. Now people want others to pay their credit card debt, student loan debt, their car payments

The Big Three made their bed - they should willing to lie in it

From the NY Times

snip

Granting immortality to Detroit’s Big Three does not enhance creative destruction. It retards it. It crosses a line, a bright line. It is not about saving a system; there will still be cars made and sold in America. It is about saving politically powerful corporations. A Detroit bailout would set a precedent for every single politically connected corporation in America. There already is a long line of lobbyists bidding for federal money. If Detroit gets money, then everyone would have a case. After all, are the employees of Circuit City or the newspaper industry inferior to the employees of Chrysler?

It is all a reminder that the biggest threat to a healthy economy is not the socialists of campaign lore. It’s C.E.O.’s. It’s politically powerful crony capitalists who use their influence to create a stagnant corporate welfare state.

If ever the market has rendered a just verdict, it is the one rendered on G.M. and Chrysler. These companies are not innocent victims of this crisis. To read the expert literature on these companies is to read a long litany of miscalculation. Some experts mention the management blunders, some the union contracts and the legacy costs, some the years of poor car design and some the entrenched corporate cultures.

There seems to be no one who believes the companies are viable without radical change. A federal cash infusion will not infuse wisdom into management. It will not reduce labor costs. It will not attract talented new employees. As Megan McArdle of The Atlantic wittily put it, “Working for the Big Three magically combines vast corporate bureaucracy and job insecurity in one completely unattractive package.”

In short, a bailout will not solve anything — just postpone things. If this goes through, Big Three executives will make decisions knowing that whatever happens, Uncle Sam will bail them out — just like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the meantime, capital that could have gone to successful companies and programs will be directed toward companies with a history of using it badly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/opinion/14brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

[namvet]

The alternative being letting them collapse which would be really bad for a lot of people. GM is one of the few big manufactures still left in this country and employee a lot of people. Do you wana have all the cars made in Japan.


Do you wana have all the cars made in Japan.

they are. even the big 3 have imports in the stables

[red states rule]

they are. even the big 3 have imports in the stables

I have a Toyota made in the state of Kentucky

[Yurt]

I have a Toyota made in the state of Kentucky

i recently traded in my camry for a japan built 4 runner, maybe it is the difference btwn a camry and a 4R, but the 4R seems better built and i asked my dad who used to work corporate at toyota and he said the cars are still made better in japan even though toyota employs the same employee/quality controls here. his opinion was the attitude of the employees made the difference.

[red states rule]

i recently traded in my camry for a japan built 4 runner, maybe it is the difference btwn a camry and a 4R, but the 4R seems better built and i asked my dad who used to work corporate at toyota and he said the cars are still made better in japan even though toyota employs the same employee/quality controls here. his opinion was the attitude of the employees made the difference.

My car has 160,000 miles on it, and no major problems. It gets 42 MPG and I could not be happier with it

[namvet]

I have an 06 camry 4 banger. around 40 MPG. ive had V-6 for many years. my truck is a Nissan 4X4 6. but I don't use it that much now that im retired. its an 95 high mileage. but still runs great. and their both paid for !!!!!

[red states rule]

I have an 06 camry 4 banger. around 40 MPG. ive had V-6 for many years. my truck is a Nissan 4X4 6. but I don't use it that much now that im retired. its an 95 high mileage. but still runs great. and their both paid for !!!!!

Mine is paid for as well, and it is the best car I ever bought

[namvet]

Mine is paid for as well, and it is the best car I ever bought

I got the Camry for my wife. since she still works.

[Binky]

If you think the goal of liberals is socialism, then we have reached liberal Mecca. Each of these "bailouts" are loans "in exchange for" a huge chunk of company. We are nationalizing these businesses. There are two forms of government that do this, Socialism and....? Anybody?


Either way you slice it, we'll end up with the government owing the majority of shares in the companies. Anytime you have government owned business, it's not good for the people. You are seeing the beginning of the end for corporate owned or privately owned businesses, if we aren't careful. The handwriting is appearing on the wall.

[red states rule]

Either way you slice it, we'll end up with the government owing the majority of shares in the companies. Anytime you have government owned business, it's not good for the people. You are seeing the beginning of the end for corporate owned or privately owned businesses, if we aren't careful. The handwriting is appearing on the wall.

With Obama, Reid, and Pelosi overseeing the auto companies, here is a look at the cars we may be driving

http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Car/b/payn080423_04_cmyk.jpg

[5stringJeff]

I'm already wary of buying a car from the Detroit Three, because I have no desire to line the UAW's pockets. But if this goes through, there's not a snowball's chance in hell I'll even step on a Detroit Three dealership. Besides, Toyota and Honda produce cars in the South. I'd rather support union-free jobs down here than union-shop jobs up there.

[Kathianne]

I'm already wary of buying a car from the Detroit Three, because I have no desire to line the UAW's pockets. But if this goes through, there's not a snowball's chance in hell I'll even step on a Detroit Three dealership. Besides, Toyota and Honda produce cars in the South. I'd rather support union-free jobs down here than union-shop jobs up there.

I have to agree. Unless they do something about the contracts, those companies are going under. They don't have the capital left (http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/breaking-insurers-pull-cover-from-gm-and-fords-eu-suppliers/) to even bring in parts, giving them billions would only delay the inevitable by months.

For years their r & d has been nearly non-existent, due to their costs of labor. Thus, inferior products at high costs.

[namvet]

I'm already wary of buying a car from the Detroit Three, because I have no desire to line the UAW's pockets. But if this goes through, there's not a snowball's chance in hell I'll even step on a Detroit Three dealership. Besides, Toyota and Honda produce cars in the South. I'd rather support union-free jobs down here than union-shop jobs up there.

even though the big 3 vote dem ?????? they do expect the Nazi to bail em out.