What is Digg?39 Comments
- Richandler, on 01/01/2009, -0/+27You know what works guaranteed. Bankruptcy.
- allocate, on 12/30/2008, -1/+18"They didn't do so well" *might* be an understatement.
- superkendall, on 01/01/2009, -0/+13Sure, trust funds work great for kids who don't turn out to be spoiled brats at all.
Real change does not come from pushing free money at people. Real change comes after that runs out. - diggafrica, on 01/01/2009, -3/+11The best cure is to make better cars. Learn from the europeans & the japs
- draculthemad, on 01/01/2009, -5/+12This is just a product of this nation not having a national health plan.
Japan/Germany etc all have it, which means they don't have to include it for their labour.
Once you factor that in, pay between the union shops and their competitors starts to reach parity.
So its OK for you to toss the auto industry under the train because of "failed business model", while rushing to hand off almost a *trillion* dollars to an industry that tanked because of a rush to derivatives of derivatives. The same industry that has become so lax in oversight that you have ponzi schemes being committed by former industry leaders?
I love all the union-hate. Time after time its been proven that corporations are soulless entities, and will do anything for the bottom line.
The primary purpose of 'incorporation' is to protect the share-holders from liability, and with it any legal check upon responsibility.
Yet people still say "unions have served their purpose".
Do you honestly think that if unions were outlawed on tuesday, we wouldn't be back to industrial revolution(third world) level working conditions by thursday? - linagee, on 01/01/2009, -0/+6Why don't you just write them a check directly if you want to give them your tax money? I don't want to give them my money because I don't believe in handing money to a business in exchange for nothing.
- tgc1, on 01/01/2009, -1/+6Too late.
- MrGaw, on 01/01/2009, -3/+8Nah... bailouts work just fine... let's let congress give them more checks
- frosted, on 01/01/2009, -0/+4WTF? When was the right to spend my tax dollar left in the hands of people who don't even consult me before spending it on crap?
- brad3378, on 01/02/2009, -1/+5I wonder how many buries I'll get for this?
http://www.reuters.com/article/americasDealsNews/i ...
Now the burden is on you to cite your source for the claim that auto workers get a year's pay if they're laid off. - charlietuna, on 01/01/2009, -1/+4No, these suggestions are simply more creative bailouts, so Detroit would welcome it (and ask for more). Most economists like Tom Friedman think that some sort of bailout is needed, since the fallout will affect so many suppliers, rippling through the economy.
The trick will be to make management take responsibility for the short sighted risks they took (concentrating on lowering production costs at the expense of less flexible manufacturing, accommodating spoiled brat unions that don't want retirees to use medicare etc). - Swanston, on 01/03/2009, -0/+3"Now the burden is on you to cite your source for the claim that auto workers get a year's pay if they're laid off."
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0510/17/A ... (up to date, but sadly, Fox News) http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2008/11/ ...
And for my opinion on monopolistic corporations not being a part of capitalism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism#Monopoly_c ... Specifically the last sentence of the second paragraph.
Regardless... If you buried me, please explain? Really bugs me that I was buried, and all I get is "you are wrong" which was dugg up, and it's not even a complete sentence.
@brad3378 Thanks. - tommcgraw, on 01/01/2009, -2/+5you are wrong
- charlietuna, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3It would be a trust fund for stocking spare parts in the event of insolvency, not for running the firm. To be managed by the bankruptcy judge (most likely the Car Czar).
- nextekcarl, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3Yeah, no one's heard of sarcasm tags. /s
- nextekcarl, on 01/01/2009, -1/+3I think most of the comments I've seen here have been pretty critical of the bailout of the financial industry, too. But you do bring up some good points. I've worked a lot of places that didn't have unions (and one that desperately needed one actually failed to form one a couple years before I started) but the places I've worked that were union were great if you wanted to play the political game with the other people in the union, and sucked if you just wanted to be good at your job. That's a problem with unions. They ARE businesses in their own right now. We need unions for our unions. I sense a recursion problem there. I've heard how things were before unions, but I've seen how they are after unions have been around for a while. How do we keep the good while getting rid of the bad? There are reasons why some workers still dislike unions. If all they did was good we wouldn't have this many people still disliking the idea. Until someone can address those issues, the dislike will continue.
- blitz718, on 01/01/2009, -2/+4They lost out to foreign businesses, that's that. It sucks to tell this to a fellow american but this is a product of globalization. If they want to continue working in this industry they should outsource themselves to japan/germany/wherever else, because the US auto industry should be on its way out the door.
- brad3378, on 01/03/2009, -0/+2Thank you Swanston.
+1 - cawpin, on 01/02/2009, -0/+2There's only one problem with this guy's argument. They didn't ask for a bailout. They asked for a loan.
- shoppingkart, on 01/01/2009, -1/+3Nah, I still wouldn't Trust them.
- twoboyzzmommy, on 01/01/2009, -0/+2 "...union were great if you wanted to play the political game with the other people in the union, and sucked if you just "wanted to be good at your job. That's a problem with unions. They ARE businesses in their own right now."
One dig up for you!! - jfreeman, on 01/01/2009, -0/+1How is a huge government purchase of unneeded automobiles not another form of a public bailout?
- inactive, on 12/31/2008, -1/+2Chances of something like this actually being implemented as opposed to bailouts? I'm sure big fat cat corporate lobbyists with parliament connections would block such a bill.
- nutsackninja, on 04/21/2009, -0/+1The problem is the CAW/UAW forced the management to make these poor decisions. The only way the management could keep up with the demands of the unions was to take stupid risks drop long term goals for short term profits (eg SUV's instead of fuel efficient cars). I blame the management for not fighting harder against the bully tactics of the union, but at the end the union was the parasite that killed its host.
- afruff23, on 01/01/2009, -4/+5Are you sure that's the politically correct way to say that? I believe the correct term is "Europeans".
- MrGaw, on 01/01/2009, -1/+2sorry, sarcasm is kind of hard to represent in text.
- linagee, on 01/02/2009, -0/+1@MrGaw, nextekcarl: It's not sarcasm when congress actually DOES hand them checks. :-(
- diggdatt, on 01/02/2009, -0/+18 yrs from now all the politicians will say this bail out was a bad idea. Just like they have done with NAFTA.
Giving these companies money, doesn't make people want to buy their ***** any more than before. - jjheath, on 01/02/2009, -0/+1it's obvious that one of the big 3 (at the very least) should just be left to die. it would only strengthen the remaining companies. it's called...um...oh yeah, capitalism. but, no place for that here eh comrades??
- jeffvvisoft, on 01/12/2009, -0/+1Why people didn't buy the Pontiac Asstech is beyond me.
- wwwforexsigcom, on 01/01/2009, -0/+0Bailout's can help but the execs need to use the money wisely. If they blow the bailout money where will new funds come from??
- Swanston, on 01/02/2009, -1/+1Okay... Then correct me as I requested please!?
- brad3378, on 01/02/2009, -1/+1Works great for the lawyers anyway.
- satcomer, on 01/01/2009, -3/+3Want a simple cure that will save American car manufactures then tell them to make cars that don't suck. Tel them i want a car that gets 30+ miles to a gallon and I don't have to drive it like Granny Smith. Tell them to make a car that won't fall apart with a thousand cuts over a 5+ years. This is the only way to get people to buy their cars again.
Only having one model of a good car will not save their company. They need real overhaul of almost their entire car lines. - redhotq, on 01/30/2009, -0/+0Nah, I still wouldn't Trust them
- toxinmedia, on 01/26/2009, -0/+0Just let em big 3 go bankrupt. All the American cars in general sux. Look at the consumer report, how many are ranked high in quality?
- Swanston, on 01/01/2009, -4/+3Corporations are soulless entities yes. But corporations are not an inherent part of capitalism.
"Yet people still say "unions have served their purpose".
Do you honestly think that if unions were outlawed on tuesday, we wouldn't be back to industrial revolution(third world) level working conditions by thursday?"
Well, if the US didn't have such a managed, regulated state controlled economy, companies would not only compete for buyers, but for workers too, making unions useless in a healthy free market capitalist economy. Wages would fall yes, but would not end up close to third world levels, that is sheer nonsense. The auto workers are overpaid, that is (not the sole) but a contributing factor and the falling wage is part of the solution.
Correct me if I'm wrong but don't they get $45-$50 and hour? And they get something like a years pay if they're laid off?
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