jasonjm

Ya ya, I know.

I'm still pissed about it.

Rednine

I know quite a few people (including myself) who have doubled their money in GM stocks in just the past two weeks, so yes!

I think you should go to congress cause you seem to have all the answers. I'm voting for you.

timrocks311

oh yeah, that right there is the key to success.

Brownergy

If they want to sell cars and make money, send everyone $20K and I promise I'll go out and buy a car with it, maybe even two. I wish everytime I failed at something someone would give me billions.

ashamouel

It's a part. Cutting out tens of millions of dollars in executive costs is still tens of millions of dollars towards the bottom line.

Elistan

Yeah, because, you know, all those 29 year old full-time students majoring in journalism with a scholarship because their parents are GM retirees - we can't have them actually get a job, eh?

(I'm not commenting on the merit of a big-three bailout, I'm just rather amazed at this one particular story. Seriously, are stories from The Onion now being posted on CNN? "If General Motors declares bankruptcy, Amanda Emery might have to work to support her family." Oh, the horror!)

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/02/students....stry/index.html

asiliat

I'm still not understanding this.

Let's say the American Big 3 gets a hand out, and in a short time span create cars that people want. (not likely, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt)

Wanting and actually buying are 2 different things. Just because the gov't can potentially prop up a whole industry doesn't mean squat if supply outweights demand -- and I just don't see people rushing out and buying new cars, no matter how cheap. The biggest truth-ism is that fixing a car costs less than buying new.

The US should have NEVER depended on cars as a staple of the economy, I knew it was going to die when I was still a kid....I just can't believe I'm alive to see it all fall apart.

Penforhire

Saki, I hear that even today GM's cost, per car, is several thousand dollars higher than the equivalent Japanese car due to loaded labor cost. They haven't come far enough fast enough. Sure I recognize the UAW shares the blame but if the primary beast dies then the leeches die too.

Maybe a condition of our bail-out should be a total flush-down-toilet of current management above a certain level. The problem is deciding who should run the place.

Rednine

It can be argued (very successfully) that the growth of the car industry in America, created the middle class.
Almost overnight you had people employed by Mr Ford who could afford their own homes and an automobile, plus many of the staples which previously only the wealth could.
It isn't so much the US becoming dependent on the automobile industry ,as the automobile being very responsible for the America we have today.
Not to mention their factories being turned over to war production and making it possible for the US to become the super power it hopefully remains.

Here's a thought.

Shjuld the US lose the big 3 and a major conflict breaks out, (think a hell of a lot bigger than Irag) who or where would we turn to for our arms, tanks, planes, ammunition, etc etc?
Hopefully we wouldn't be up against China or Japan or India or Russia or Germany, as they would probably be who we would need to be buying our arms from.

Just wondering if losing all three would be detrimental to national security.
Any thoughts?

jasonjm

Thats nice, I've made more than 3x my money in SKF. But that aside GM is pure speculation at the moment. Fundamentals?

Your making money on TRADING GM. You don't know if they'll still be around OR if they'll be turning a profit in the next 3 years.

So no, I wouldn't be banking on _you_ either.