Comments on: Transfusions don’t stop the bleeding

By: db

db — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:09:43 +0000

I would like to know why the auto industry gets treated so differently that the financial. To the best of my knowledge, it is only AIG that we have forced management changes upon. I’d like to have gotten rid of most of the palyers on wall street. But, I guess they give more in Lobby money.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:52:49 +0000

I agree that domestic auto manufacturing is critical to the United States economy. If GM and Chrysler were to go under, the results would be devastating. All domestic manufacturing would come to a standstill for at least 6 months with all the auto supplier collapses. Foreign automakers who presently also build cars domestically, would increase imports. The foreign automakers may end up closing all their US plants and go back to importing everything. Why build here, it’s to expensive? But we need those jobs and that industry.

By: John Matus

John Matus — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:43:56 +0000

What Detroit needs right now is not more money, but re-structuring. They need to cut down all the fat and reduce production volume to match demand. A big loan will only encourage more waste. Also the GM/Crysler saga has been exaggerated. If they both go, it will not be the end of the world or the auto industry.

By: JohnL1

JohnL1 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:10:46 +0000

Unless the North American auto industry cuts its production by 50% it will NOT survive.

By: Thomas E. Shafovaloff

Thomas E. Shafovaloff — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:31:41 +0000

Anubis, March 24, 11:18 a.m. above, whose comments warn of Fascism is appreciated. Who is to say that the former administration, knowing that regulation of financial markets, particularly those related to housing, would have “cut off” tax revenue that the “bubble” was generating. To cut off tax revenue would have alarmed the public and generated less support for the “war time President’s” forays. Also, knowing the tax hole he was digging played perfectly for the radical conservatives who would, and just see the jubilance of Rep. Bohner, like to bankrupt the country so they can impose their belief that the only constitutional basis for federal taxation is to support the military – providing for common defense and …promoting general welfare entirely on the backs of each individual state. This “financial pardon” for the financial industry suddenly appeared when the election of McCain dimmed. The financial industry has an interest in perpetuating itself so all this money thrown at it could have been kept in the coffers. Bush FEAR was successful once more. Another “cried Wolf Bush” success for the radical right.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:11:18 +0000

Advice from an academic. Great. His “School of Management” (whatever that is) has been churning-out the scoundrels who got us into this mess. Forgive me if I don’t put much stock in his opinion about anything related to the current economic crisis.

By: Don

Don — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:30:04 +0000

The problem is that by commiting funds to the auto sector we limit the resources available for other initiatives representing future industries. People also tend to think in static terms, as if the market will return to “normal” after the recovery. No, those companies that are aggressively restructing will come out of this far stronger than those postponing the inevitable. We are in the middle of a reallocation of market share. As soon as GM and Chrysler asked for bailout money, they lost public confidence in their vehicles. It was a very unenlightened move. The best thing we can do to help them survive is to force them to adapt on their own. But maybe we can offer the workers support if they want to go to college and learn something.

By: Kuyla Ford

Kuyla Ford — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:07:22 +0000

Write your congressman! The Detroit Big 3 (Who are fronts for the oil companies), the banks (Who conduit the oil company money) and AIG (who keeps the oil companies protected) were handed “money in a sack” within a few days with no questions asked, no application and no review process but the alternative energy people, ie: wind, solar and electric cars; must pay massive fees, file thousands of pages of paper and wait years to see if they MIGHT get some money. It seems as if there is an intentional program going on to delay alternative energy. Already, multiple solar companies that were waiting for that money have been forced to go out of business by the delay and most of the electric car companies are going to die soon too.

By: Anubis

Anubis — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:18:14 +0000

A sales decline of 45 percent in the auto industry is a sectoral problem. Declines of greater and lesser degree abound throughout the world economy. If one posits greed and criminal activity to be normal in high finance, then this world economic collapse was precipitous.

Any assertion that the U.S. remains a capitalist society and the free market will eventually right the ship is at best a naive position. The largest banks are under the federal umbrella of Tarp and the FDIC. Day to day already operations are being managed by the federal government. Treasury Secretary Geitner has asked the Congress for sweeping powers to allow government receivership, abrogate or enforce contracts and even close insurance and financial corporations not already under TARP or FDIC. Such authority would be placed in the hands of the Treasury. Such a precedent can be found in the history of Mussolini’s Italy and Nazi Germany prior to WW II.

Karl Marx stated that when a capitalist society moves towards fascism, this is a symptom of capitalism in decline. 20th century world history suggests his observations may be correct. The threat of war looms when governments take over industries in response to severe economic crisis’. Unlimited control of a states wealth and industry by a few men in power is always dangerous.

When ever a government seeks to expand it’s power, that government always argues that it such power is necessary to safeguard the wealth, security and future of it’s citizens. In reality veiled duplicity prevails. Such power puts the fate of a society in the hands of very few privileged and isolated individuals. Their decision making process will be neither transparent or open to debate.

By: non-freebie

non-freebie — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:46:06 +0000

Amputation also closes a wound!
We need to keep in mind, that on a worldwide scale, it is only two american auto manufacturers that would need these infusions in this “most abnormal economy”. Non American – and even one American Auto manufacturer do not need support. For this reason, I do not see this a sectoral problem, but a (long standing) management problem of two American automotive manufacturers.
Once demand rebounds, the survivors will pick up the supply with zero (volume) impact on the automotive suppliers. Isn’t this capitalism and normal market economy the American way? What is happening to Americans? Where do they want to hide?