Given the alternatives, this sounds like a good idea as well. Let’s face it, Detroit and the Rust Belt aren’t great places to be. Why not offer some incentive packages (including re-location fees) to get people moving to where the retirees are going (West and Southwest)? Those areas need service and health industry workers, as well as construction workers.

There’s no perfect answer here. I’m simply of the mind that trying to prop up GM, and the greater Rust Belt in general, for another few years rather than face the obvious is a stupid waste of tax money.

Yes, people are going to end up having to make sacrifices, and that might include (god forbid) moving. Personally, I moved _abroad_ for a job opportunity. You make it sound like a huge deal (it kind of is) but at the same time it’s something many people do every day.

The US economy can’t afford the hit right now. Postponement is not the worst option.

Prove it. We bail-out GM and co. now, I bet you in a year we come back to exactly the same situation.

Don’t give the money to GM, give government educational and rent vouchers to the workers themselves so they can re-train for another field.

Well, problem solved.

And the big 3 could sale every car currently sitting on lots today. Every last one. Just lower the price on each to $100.

What? You’re saying that would be a really stupid things for the car companies to do? It would put them out of business? But really cheap cars is what the consumers want!

Now these dinosaurs are in trouble and the right thinks its a great opportunity to screw the workers. Not, you know solve some of the underlying problems the nation’s industrial base faces like health canre costs.

If GM goes bankrupt that will kill about 1 million American jobs. Can the economy handle that right now? We’ve dumped how much money into the banks so far? Over 1 trillion. And the banks took the money and gave out tons of bonus money, bought other banks, or they are sitting on it. And still the banks have shed thousands of jobs. For $25-50 billion or so in loans we can save over 1 million jobs and that would be a waste?

On the other hand, hybrids are seriously subsidized by the government through tax breaks.

Oh, and anyone who thinks that the union contracts are NOT a major problem for the auto makers needs to Google up “job bank.” That is an insane practice, and for the unions to defend it… good god.

J.

Alas, the typos spell checkers won’t catch….

Foreign car companies experiienced a crunch too, especially US divisions, but they are more diversified thanks to their share of foreign markets that demand better fuel efficiency. They have the cars developed that people now want.

So yes, pouring money into the big three won’t help unless upper management learns to adapt and plan ahead. Screwing the workers won’t make Americans buy more Hummers.

Also, there’s a new UAW contract kicking in around 2011. It will bring labor costs down to around what the Japanese pay. This is a bridge to 2011.

God, sometimes I swear some of you are still drunk two weeks after the election…

J.

1) unlike the Wall St bailouts, money to GM, Ford, and Chrysler save actual jobs–the economy cannot withstand losing 600k-1m jobs up and down the automotive supply chain in the next twelve to eighteen months.

2) because the automakers have come a long way toward curing their institutional dysfunction, have a more promising product mix in the pipelines, and a loan can come with preconditions that will take us further toward fixing the problems caused by a focus on short-term goals.

3) because the automakers will have to file for Chapter 7 liquidation, rather than Chapter 11 restructuring, and then the assets go for pennies on the dollar to Chinese manufacturers.

The loan package makes sense. It’s worked before, and it’s money relatively well spent for the time being.

On a related topic: What was the first swing state McCain pulled operations out of? If you answered Michigan, then you know why Cornyn and Kyl want to f**k Michigan. It’s a two-fer: look the part of the fiscal conservative; exact political revenge.

And it isn’t about busting the unions; it’s about saving the companies, and saving SOME of the union jobs and SOME of the union benefits. Because you can be damned sure that if GM goes under, Toyota and Honda and Nissan and Hyundai might hire some of the workers, but the UAW will continue to be left out in the cold.

It’s a simple choice: you want a smaller piece of a smaller pie, or do you want to go hungry?

J.