Now that we own GM

[playerags]

I am 100% against the bailouts and powergrabs of these used to be private companies. Now we own GM. I have driven GM vehicles my whole life. My question is:
If I protest the bailout of General Motors by never again buying a GM made vehicle, does that make me unamerican? or
Is it unamerican for the government to spend our tax dollars buying up failed businesses.

 

[Fox3]

No, actually it probably makes you a good one .

GM has been my favorite for years, but with the gov and unions running it, I wouldn't buy one on a bet.

But relax, in another year or so it won't be an issue anyway, read up on what happened down in Argentina :-/. You won't be able to buy one if you wanted to :-(.

I see no where in the constitution where the gov has that kind of power... But I lived in chicago for quite some time and I know how pols there operate, sigh...

 

[BARENETTED]

Hey we are all rich now - right???

We own GM, AIG and SEVERAL BANKS!

WE CAN buy TONS OF ECIGS!

 

[gashin]

Haha we own a failed business.....

 

[Wildsky]

Hey we are all rich now - right???

We own GM, AIG and SEVERAL BANKS!

WE CAN BUY TONS OF ECIGS!

Does that mean I can give myself a hefty bonus and take a luxury vacation now?

 

[nitewriter]

Does it mean I don't have to make any more car payment? ...jk

 

[gashin]

Does it mean I don't have to make any more car payment? ...jk

No - now it means that if you miss a payment the govt will be on your....

 

[TDM]

I have no idea how the government can run a car manufacturing!! Years ago they took over the mustang ranch in nevada and it closed. If they cant make money selling sex, how are they going to make miney selling cars??

 

[dumwaldo]

GM has been my favorite for years, but with the gov and unions running it, I wouldn't buy one on a bet.

The UAW is responsible for thousands of hard working americans being able to live good middle class lives with health and retirement benefits and a decent working wage. They represent the workers and have nothing to do with 'running' the general motors corporation.

GM did not get in trouble by paying the union represented workers their union pay and benefits. I am quite sure none of the union members ever got 6 or 7 figure bonuses.

Please do not bad mouth the unions. Unions are something that is good for america, not something that is bad.

DW

 

[gashin]

They are bad in the sense that they got US car companies to pay their workers up to 6x the world average for car factory workers which did affect the sustainability of GM and led to crappier cars with cost cutting...

The UAW is responsible for thousands of hard working americans being able to live good middle class lives with health and retirement benefits and a decent working wage. They represent the workers and have nothing to do with 'running' the general motors corporation.

GM did not get in trouble by paying the union represented workers their union pay and benefits. I am quite sure none of the union members ever got 6 or 7 figure bonuses.

Please do not bad mouth the unions. Unions are something that is good for america, not something that is bad.

DW

 

[MlrGrl]

My question is:
If I protest the bailout of General Motors by never again buying a GM made vehicle, does that make me unamerican? or.....

No, it wouldn't make you unamerican...but if everyone suddenly stopped buying from them, then they'd 'need' more tax money.
So, I guess keep buying from them, help them get out of bankruptcy quickly and get the govt out of there.

Is it unamerican for the government to spend our tax dollars buying up failed businesses.

Now THAT is unAmerican. The govt has no business sticking it's nose into the private sector. No matter how gut wrenching it is to see what could have happened if they didn't do anything, we must let the private sector work it's self out.

 

[gashin]

It is unamerican but then.... the Japanese government forced their car companies to merge and to meet strict fuel and engine displacement requirements - now they're the leaders today. The same goes for Hyundai and some Euro car companies. If the rest of the worlds' governments are subsdizing their car industries, where does that leave ours?

No, it wouldn't make you unamerican...but if everyone suddenly stopped buying from them, then they'd 'need' more tax money.
So, I guess keep buying from them, help them get out of bankruptcy quickly and get the govt out of there.




Now THAT is unAmerican. The govt has no business sticking it's nose into the private sector. No matter how gut wrenching it is to see what could have happened if they didn't do anything, we must let the private sector work it's self out.

 

[dumwaldo]

They are bad in the sense that they got US car companies to pay their workers up to 6x the world average for car factory workers which did affect the sustainability of GM and led to crappier cars with cost cutting...

If you are thinking that the union workers in the automotive plants are living lavish lifestyles with big fat paychecks you are mistaken.

Just because workers in other countries are underpaid does not mean we should do the same here in the USA. These workers are just making a livable wage with benefits.

When a small handfull of people sitting on a board of directors earn more than hundreds of employees all added together I think it is difficult to blame 'cost cutting' on the workers. The people sitting at the top of the ladder are the ones that make the decisions to take cost cutting measures. They could just as easily decide those cuts should come from the multimillion dollar salaries they collect instead of from the manufacturing process but something called greed so often gets in the way of a common sense decision like that.

DW

 

[taz3cat]

I have to agree with Dumbwaldo, If the unions were as strong as they were before everyone started Union busting, you would not be taking drug test, nicotine tests, fat test, or any of the other new crap empoyer can think up and it is not new. The Unions stopped employers from treating their employees like serfs. Well keep killing the unions and see how well you like serfdom.

Read a little history about how employees were treated yeats ago and what the union did for the American people.

I have never belonged to a union in my life. I like reading history. I felt this way before I married my husband who is a union member retired.

 

[Kate51]

I don't believe the Government Motors went .... up because of the Unions. But I do believe the top-heavy floors of the GM building were busy lining their own pockets and making BAD decisions: too many dealers who probably got screwed in ways we don't even know: Too many MODELS of too many types, from trucks to cars: no one was watching to overhead, cause THEY were the overhead: Why else would so many plants have to be shut down? Poor efficiency, and too many Politicians to bribe!!!!!! Maybe one or more of these could be a problem, but all put together is just unmanageable. Like a run-away train. The unions would have been happy with their demands, or would be constricted to what the Company could offer...but neither one trusted the other. NOW, the unions seem to be "federalized": if we don't get what we want we start making political contributions. So the company did that, and the unions did that. Who's gonna win, both? Not likely. Now we all won, we own them! Thanks, but count me out, I couldn't afford a new car. We own a GM Sonoma, and love it. But it's ten years old, well cared for. What we need is for BIG BROTHER to start minding the Banks, literally. Mind the public domain they were voted into office for, and leave private companies to their own success or their own demise. Now our Grandchildren will be paying for what has happened, and wondering "how are we gonna fix that".
Throw in a few more programs, like nationalized health care, (I don't have insurance either) fix the Social Security, Medicare, Medicade, SCHIPS, and pretty soon we'll all be out of work and on the dole, but we don't want to call it "Welfare". We'll just call it Socialism. BIG BROTHER can watch while we starve to death.
Stop the world. I still work with my hands to pay the bills, my retired husband went back to work, at 67. This is craziness. We haven't had a vacation in 13 years. We've never been to Harvard, so what would we know, anyway. Guess we deserve what we get, eh? Maybe we got what we wished for?
But answer this: Why do Politics enter into Private Industry? I never want to see again a picture of a Union meeting with everyone sitting around the table in their "Vote for So-and-So" Hats and T-shirts. Makes me sickened.
Stop filling "So-and-So's" pockets, maybe we could get somewhere.

 

[TDM]

Union are actually all right. They do help the workers when they can. But unfortunately sometimes even union fanboys get Laid Off and are unemployed.

But hey gives em more time to do mods!!

 

[gashin]

Welcome to the USSA - United Socialist States of America

I don't believe the Government Motors went .... up because of the Unions. But I do believe the top-heavy floors of the GM building were busy lining their own pockets and making BAD decisions: too many dealers who probably got screwed in ways we don't even know: Too many MODELS of too many types, from trucks to cars: no one was watching to overhead, cause THEY were the overhead: Why else would so many plants have to be shut down? Poor efficiency, and too many Politicians to bribe!!!!!! Maybe one or more of these could be a problem, but all put together is just unmanageable. Like a run-away train. The unions would have been happy with their demands, or would be constricted to what the Company could offer...but neither one trusted the other. NOW, the unions seem to be "federalized": if we don't get what we want we start making political contributions. So the company did that, and the unions did that. Who's gonna win, both? Not likely. Now we all won, we own them! Thanks, but count me out, I couldn't afford a new car. We own a GM Sonoma, and love it. But it's ten years old, well cared for. What we need is for BIG BROTHER to start minding the Banks, literally. Mind the public domain they were voted into office for, and leave private companies to their own success or their own demise. Now our Grandchildren will be paying for what has happened, and wondering "how are we gonna fix that".
Throw in a few more programs, like nationalized health care, (I don't have insurance either) fix the Social Security, Medicare, Medicade, SCHIPS, and pretty soon we'll all be out of work and on the dole, but we don't want to call it "Welfare". We'll just call it Socialism. BIG BROTHER can watch while we starve to death.
Stop the world. I still work with my hands to pay the bills, my retired husband went back to work, at 67. This is craziness. We haven't had a vacation in 13 years. We've never been to Harvard, so what would we know, anyway. Guess we deserve what we get, eh? Maybe we got what we wished for?
But answer this: Why do Politics enter into Private Industry? I never want to see again a picture of a Union meeting with everyone sitting around the table in their "Vote for So-and-So" Hats and T-shirts. Makes me sickened.
Stop filling "So-and-So's" pockets, maybe we could get somewhere.

 

[dumwaldo]

Union are actually all right. They do help the workers when they can. But unfortunately sometimes even union fanboys get Laid Off and are unemployed.

But hey gives em more time to do mods!!

Union fanboys are the ones that get laid off most frequently.

I could work steadily if I wanted to but I choose to work as a union shop steward because I am such a fanboy. As a shop steward that means when a job ends I get laid off and have to wait my turn for the next job.

IMHO it is a small sacrifice to make to be privileged to actually be one of the guys that gets to help 'do what we can' for the workers. It gives me personal satisfaction to be able to stand up for workers that would otherwise be taken advantage of. The kind of satisfaction that can not be bought with money.

DW

 

[AGNES PEACOCK]

I noticed a long time ago that the vehicle makers in the US are in the back pockets of the oil companies. Anyone else remember the vehicles of the past that got 40 miles to the gallon. Datsun, etc...... Even the Scion in the beginning got better mileage, not now! We are, have been forced to pay for less qualtiy in a vehicle. Then they have topped it all off with very poor mileage performance too boot. Sad, very sad.

Hopefully sometime soon, (doubt it) it will be good to buy american again. I still do, and have always bought american as that is the way I was raised. I so wish it would be easier for everyone though.

 

[dumwaldo]

I noticed a long time ago that the vehicle makers in the US are in the back pockets of the oil companies. Anyone else remember the vehicles of the past that got 40 miles to the gallon. Datsun, etc...... Even the Scion in the beginning got better mileage, not now! We are, have been forced to pay for less qualtiy in a vehicle. Then they have topped it all off with very poor mileage performance too boot. Sad, very sad.

Hopefully sometime soon, (doubt it) it will be good to buy american again. I still do, and have always bought american as that is the way I was raised. I so wish it would be easier for everyone though.

Datsun is now called nissan and they were never an american company.

Scion is made by Toyota, another Japanese company. Though in all fairness Toyota is now just as american as the 'american' car makers since they assemble here in the USA.

The only older car I remember getting 40 miles to the gallon was the original honda civic that was actually powered by a 1200cc motorcycle engine.

DW