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Should the US government bail out the Big 3?


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Just to note since the media likes to warp things, bail out means loan.

 

 

 

I think both GM and Ford can pull themselves out with a little help, but Chrysler I'm not so sure needs the help. Both GM and Ford are such widespread companies that own many other car companies and I think it would be wise to loan them the $25 billion.

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The government shouldn't bail out ANYONE. It's your tax dollars, which is just slushed into the government's coffers and then sent to these companies. If they created a product which people actually wanted, then they wouldn't need handouts. If they don't, then they don't serve a purpose and should collapse to free up the market.

 

 

 

 

 

They're not going to be able to repay this loan; all car companies have been doing lately is losing more and more ground to other companies, which simply make better cars that are desired more than theirs.

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Terrible idea. Let them go bankrupt. If their cars aren't selling, there is a reason. People don't want unreliable American-made gas-guzzling cars anymore.

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Terrible idea. Let them go bankrupt. If their cars aren't selling, there is a reason. People don't want unreliable American-made gas-guzzling cars anymore.

 

 

 

What are you talking about? GM has a huge lineup of hybrids/electric cars coming up within the next year or so. Even the Sierra gets 20mpg.

 

 

 

It's kind of silly that people are talking about bailing them out though. The unions have strangled them to death. The big 3 pay their employees 50% more than any other car companies. That is a good thing but why would you need government money when you can do that? Why doesn't the government stop making them retool their factories because of all these silly restrictions? That would surely save them some money.

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Terrible idea. Let them go bankrupt. If their cars aren't selling, there is a reason. People don't want unreliable American-made gas-guzzling cars anymore.

 

 

 

Just to be clear, GM is also Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Hummer, Saturn, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saab, Opel (GM's European division), Vauxhall (GM's British division), and Holden (Australian I think). Ford is also Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, and Volvo. Chrysler may own Mercedes, but I can never remember where Mercedes goes. Also, a lot of foreign cars are American made now and even vice versa.

 

 

 

The government shouldn't bail out ANYONE. It's your tax dollars, which is just slushed into the government's coffers and then sent to these companies. If they created a product which people actually wanted, then they wouldn't need handouts. If they don't, then they don't serve a purpose and should collapse to free up the market.

 

 

 

 

People do want their cars (granted not the full size trucks and SUVs), but they don't want to spend money right now.

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We aren't all American, explain what's going on?

 

 

 

Yeah seriously, this is quite annoying. It's only proper to give a short backstory in your OP.

 

 

 

Here's an article with some numbers: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/business/04auto.html?ref=automobiles

 

 

 

The grim results particularly for General Motors, whose sales dropped by 45 percent during the month raised new concerns about the chances of survival for Detroits troubled Big Three.

 

 

 

Basically, three big American auto companies, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, are doing much worse than the rest of the industry in the US and the government is now debating whether to help them out or let them potentially go bankrupt.

 

 

 

Some other articles:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/business/12auto.html?ref=automobiles

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/business/economy/13bankruptcy.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=automobiles&adxnnlx=1227042094-jrjX6759Tj/4aLAYpa2prQ

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I'd rather the government just take over completely, but if a "bailout" is the only other option (minus letting them die), I'd take the "bailout".

 

 

 

For the record, the last time a car company was "bailed out", we profited. Furthermore, I'd rather not lose millions of jobs in a sinking economy (directly from the car companies, and the millions of others indirectly involved).

 

 

 

Strict strict oversight, however.

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I'd rather the government just take over completely, but if a "bailout" is the only other option (minus letting them die), I'd take the "bailout".

 

 

 

For the record, the last time a car company was "bailed out", we profited. Furthermore, I'd rather not lose millions of jobs in a sinking economy (directly from the car companies, and the millions of others indirectly involved).

 

 

 

Strict strict oversight, however.

 

 

 

Just curious, what was the last one we bailed out?

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I'd rather the government just take over completely, but if a "bailout" is the only other option (minus letting them die), I'd take the "bailout".

 

 

 

For the record, the last time a car company was "bailed out", we profited. Furthermore, I'd rather not lose millions of jobs in a sinking economy (directly from the car companies, and the millions of others indirectly involved).

 

 

 

Strict strict oversight, however.

 

 

 

Just curious, what was the last one we bailed out?

 

 

 

Chrysler under Jimmy Carter in 1980.

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It may be a good idea, because they'll bring other car companies down with them if these 'Big 3' collapse. Though it is a case of making cars which are ACTUALLY desirable, not just gas guzzlers which pollute our towns & cities.

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If they created a product which people actually wanted, then they wouldn't need handouts.

 

Inorite? What the [bleep]'s an "automobile"?

 

 

 

These are companies that really need it. They've needed help ever since Japan basically took over the car market, it's just a bigger deal now because they have a chance to get help. Ford and Chevy, especially, are too nice. They have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people working for them or who have worked for them. Paying millions of people wages and pension in the current economy when your vehicles aren't the bestsellers is tough.

 

 

 

Wierd that I say that, since you can't walk down street in Texas without seeing a Ford or Chevy.

catch it now so you can like it before it went so mainstream

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What are you talking about? GM has a huge lineup of hybrids/electric cars coming up within the next year or so. Even the Sierra gets 20mpg.

 

 

 

Well let's see: the cars are pieces of [cabbage] compared to foreign cars, in that they die in half of the time; they get crap mileage; they're huge [wagon] cars that people don't need.

 

 

 

I like how you perceive "20 mpg" as good mileage.

 

 

 

Although, in their defense, they're just feeding the demand of the public with their huge over sized, over polluting, crap mileage cars.

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Don't those car industries supply jobs to a huge amount of the American workforce? So them going bankrupt would make unemployment skyrocket?

 

 

 

yes, they do, without them we lose so many jobs its uthinkable. Try to have an economy running with many people out of the workforce.

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Mage...What? Chevies and Fords are the longest-lasting cars I've ever driven. My grandpa has a thirty-year old Chevy that still runs fine. And a lot of people do need them. I have a job fairly set in stone with a landscaping company when I turn seventeen, and you have to haul materials (they do a lot of the richer estates). Am I gonna haul that in an Accord?

catch it now so you can like it before it went so mainstream

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Yes, people do need them. Most, do not. You'll see 75-80% of our population driving these tanking things down the road, just count them (this is my anecdote). It's always 1 person driving them, too (more often it's a woman than a man, probably stay at home).

 

 

 

Well, I'm not interested in your cool anecdote, because I trust statistics.

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Mage...What? Chevies and Fords are the longest-lasting cars I've ever driven. My grandpa has a thirty-year old Chevy that still runs fine. And a lot of people do need them. I have a job fairly set in stone with a landscaping company when I turn seventeen, and you have to haul materials (they do a lot of the richer estates). Am I gonna haul that in an Accord?

 

 

 

Longest-lasting != reliability

 

 

 

A car can exist forever, it's a question of how many times it ends up in the shop

 

 

 

And don't be a fool. There's the Tundra/Tacoma offered by Toyota

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