Should We Bail Out Detroit?

I say no, let them go Bankrupt so we dont have to pay for their problems. All of the automotive industry is hurting now because the Big 3 didnt do their jobs. I think they should do what Jay Leno said, give all of us a certain amount as long as we go buy a new Corvette. They get the money and we all get a new Vette!!!!

Its really sad to read the stupidity and ignorance in this thread. I don’t give a shit about the millions of Americans, yet your the one who proposes for Congress to take MORE MONEY that our government DOES NOT HAVE? Do you work for GM? I amm defending the MILLIONS of AMERICANS who believe in free-market trade, our constitutional principles. Then i would be right in saying that you are for innocent Americans being robbed of their hard earned money,right? Im glad your for government subsidies, i never will be. You talk about no throwing money at problems, which is EXACTLY what a bailout is. Open your eyes before its too late, our government owes way too much money, and needs to cut taxes, which is no way in hell going to happen by continuing to bailout companies REGARDLESS of what industry they are in.

“…How about MILLIONS OF NEW JOBS that will be created from the Japanese automakers creating new dealerships and service centers, THAT WILL HELP BRING OUR DEVALUED DOLLAR UP AND TAKE OUR ECONOMY OFF OF LIFE SUPPORT?…” “… i don’t care who is making them, i care about the quality. You should take your own advice and revisit your opinion….”
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and There, Folks, is the stupidity of which I speak.
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First of all, a foreign company setting up dealerships is basically a PUMP that’s designed to suck money from the U.S. Economy. This money DOSEN’T make it back INTO the U.S. because we don’t make much that the Japanese want to buy from us. Is this making sense, because this IS something called “Common Sense”. Too bad it’s not as common as it used to be.
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I AM defending the livelihood of millions that you apparently don’t give a shit about.
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Oh and like I said I don’t like to throw money at problems. GM and any other auto maker should… MUST take the rescue with conditions that include retooling, reorganization and performance milestones. No company should ever just be given cash under similar circumstances without requirements being set and enforced.

This is not a bailout for Detroit. This is a loan to US automakers. One in every ten jobs nation wide is auto related. To be naive and think that if the US automakers going under would not affect you, is ridiculous. The domino affect would be so great that our economy would be in much worse shape than what it is today. I live in Metro Detroit, while I do not work for any of the big three, my job is indirectly related to them. Frankly, I am tired of seeing my neighbors loose their jobs, homes and dignity to the automakers, but if you think your immune to it, well you better think again.

How about the japanese companies having ONE plant in America giving more Americans jobs than the big 3 because they have ONE plant in Mexico or Canada and 10 in America. If anyone could explain how that works, I’m listening.

Yeah, the solution is to stop rewarding failure. Millions of jobs lost? How about MILLIONS OF NEW JOBS that will be created from the Japanese automakers creating new dealerships and service centers, THAT WILL HELP BRING OUR DEVALUED DOLLAR UP AND TAKE OUR ECONOMY OFF OF LIFE SUPPORT? HOW ABOUT PULLING OUR TROOPS OUT OF OTHER COUNTRIES AND SPENDING OVER 9 TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR KEEPING THEM OVERSEAS? You should learn to think outside of your box. A car is a car, i don’t care who is making them, i care about the quality. You should take your own advice and revisit your opinion.

MILLIONS of jobs depend on the auto industry.
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what manufacturing remains within the United States needs to survive. Why the hell don’t some of us in the U.S. freaking understand how important this is? Complacent or just brainless indifference? Whatever the case, do some research and honestly revisit your opinion.
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I’m not one for thowing money at problems and don’t like the prospect of socialist solutions but desperate times call for desperate measures. -
Adapt and survive. Got a better goddamn alternative?

Ok, a lot of misinformation being posted here. Americans buying American cars? Obviously a lot of people here don’t realize that Chevrolet and Ford outsource their cars to be built at plants in Mexico and Canada. Nissan, Toyota and Honda have plants in the United States, providing jobs for hardworking Americans. Our government needs to STOP bailing out companies who are performing poorly, and STOP SPENDING MONEY. The goverment takes the money for these bailouts from YOU and ME. We pay for it in the end in the form of higher taxes. Our government is way too big as it is, with no accoutability when something goes wrong. Whether our President is Red or Blue, Democratic or Republican, we need a return to our Founding Fathers concepts of a non-interventionist foreign policy and our government needs to stop subsidizing companies (banks,automakers,etc.) No, slavery wasn’t something that the forefathers adressed, and i never did condone/agree that it was okay. Every group/person deserves equality and respect.

as childish as the companies have been… I vote for a “socialist” bail out. A few rules to follow..like real engineering stepping up or get out…

Think about this, the big three goes under, thats fine, tens of thousands of jobs will be lost – bad business decisons led to this. But it doesn’t end there. This is the problem, how many people do work for car dealerships, or produce parts that the auto industry puts on there cars, or the machines that are used to build cars, or the paint used on the cars. If we dont bail them out, a million will lose their jobs immediatly, but ten million will suffer massively. Make them declare bankruptcy, rebuild, get rid of all the union crap that is the ultimate reason that they are going under, and reestablish the company into a functioning industry again. Otherwise, were all going under.

It would be a disaster not to bail them out. The last thing we need with the economy in the shitter is a huge american industry to just disappear. And yes, this is supposedly called a “free market” but the governments been sticking it’s nose in the economy since the begining. Why stop now? It would also help for AMERICANS to buy AMERICAN cars. But i’ll stop there before i start a posting war on buying american cars and blah blah…

Everyone keeps banging on about communism and socialism in the news, and how Detroit have made some VERY stupid mistakes (i.e. producing cars that cost more to run than children).
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However, if you don’t bail out GM and the like, the whole economy will fall apart. Besides, I am sure they will be able to pay the money back in the near future: by producing smaller cars (most arriving by 2012). Plus, the big three are still (relatively) thriving across the rest of the world because they have those markets sorted.
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If you take away Detroit, you leave a HUGE gap in markets all across the world, and it will be much harder to get a decent car at a good price. The US’s budget deficit would only increase more because virtually every car would be imported. There won’t be an economic growth to compensate this and North America will be doomed.
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People use the view that they shouldn’t bail out Detriot because America is a capitalist society and it wouldn’t affect them: people should deal with their own problems, but IT WILL AFFECT YOU.

as much as I love Ford, This is a capitalist system. We dont bailout other companies, why should the Detroit 3 get any of our hard earned tax dollars? Anyways, handouts arent going to save a company, building products consumers want will.

I THINK YES BECAUSE IF WE CAN GIVE MONEY TO COMPANIES NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD OF WE CAN BAILOUT THE BACKBONE OF THIS COUNTRY, I THINK GM’S PLAN IS BOUND TO FAIL, SO THEY NEED TO THINK OF SOMETHING NEW. ON THE OTHER HAND FORD’S PLAN SEEMS TO BE A GOOD ONE. WE ARE ALL ON THIS SITE FOR THE REASON OF THESE COMPANIES, SO LETS STAND BEHIND WHAT WE ADMIRE AND MODIFY INTO OUR OWN GENRE OF ART. REMEMBER THEY MADE IT THROUGH THE DEPRESSION THEY COULD DO IT NOW.

Bailing anybody out is polishing the brass on the Titanic… with gold bars.
Where does the money come from? Taxpayers. Do you think the government is going to cut funding elsewhere or cancel other programs to match this amount? I bet not. Thinking it will repay itself in other ways down the road is short sighted.
Where does money come from anyway since it isn’t backed by anything of any real value? Maybe we should all take a look at that. Pumping money into an economy that doesn’t work devalues currency.
The national debt isn’t $10 trillion when you factor in Social Security owed, it’s $50 trillion. The US has ~$4 trillion in assets… uh… wait, what?

Bailing anybody out is polishing the brass on the Titanic… with gold bars.
Where does the money come from? Taxpayers. Do you think the government is going to cut funding elsewhere or cancel other programs to match this amount? I bet not. Thinking it will repay itself in other ways down the road is short sighted.
Where does money come from anyway since it isn’t backed by anything of any real value? Maybe we should all take a look at that. Pumping money into an economy that doesn’t work devalues currency.
The national debt isn’t $10 trillion when you factor in Social Security owed, it’s $50 trillion. The US has ~$4 trillion in assets… uh… wait, what?

Heck no, but voted yes because I’m selfish.

In my opinion no if they are going to keep doing what they have been doing for the last 15 years, it would only be a loss on the gov’s part.

hell no its not sustainable

Conditions need to come with the rescue. Detroit needs a big bandage, a cattle prod and a heavy nudge in the right direction.
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Anything less will be throwing money at a problem.