Berkeley CSUA MOTD:Entry 52164
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2025/07/08 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
7/8     

2008/12/4-8 [Transportation/Car] UID:52164 Activity:nil
12/4    "Even in Michigan, Not Everyone Wants a Lifeline"
        http://www.csua.org/u/n1l (finance.yahoo.com)
        \_ I'm curious: why so much discussion and public gnashing of teeth
           about a little bailout for the automakers, when a ginormous bailout
           for the banks was barely even discussed?
           \- because the narrative is "investment bankers are masters of
              the universe" and "american autoworks are lazy and overpaid".
           \_ How about banks are critical to the functioning of the economy,
              and the auto makers are not.
           \_ How about you still get to keep your goods (you still have the
              car and it still runs) when auto makers go bankcrupt?   You lose
              the warranty and any pre-paid maintenance visits, but those are
              small compared to the car.
2025/07/08 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
7/8     

You may also be interested in these entries...
2008/12/18-2009/1/2 [Transportation/Car] UID:52269 Activity:nil
12/17   Chrysler halts production. It's not like anyone I know in N Cal
        actually drives one.
        \_ they still own lamborghini?
        \_ not like everyone i know in N Cal drives
           \_ hasn't stopped them from begging for rides
        \_ It's called a "Dodge" for you.
	...
2008/12/9-14 [Transportation/Car, Transportation/Car/RoadHogs] UID:52215 Activity:kinda low
12/9    I have what is likely a very basic (and possibly stupid) question.
    Do the current financial troubles of the big 3 auto makers
    just happen to coincide with the horrible economy we have,
    or is it resulting from it? Thanks.
        \_ They were already troubled, but not irreparably in the
           previous environment. The current environment has made things
	...
2008/11/20-27 [Transportation/Car, Reference/Tax] UID:52057 Activity:nil
11/20   "Far from vanishing, many of GM’s assets would be quickly purchased
        by competent foreign automakers eager to expand their capacity in what
        is the world’s largest auto market. Happily, the list of well-run car
        companies, from Toyota to Nissan to Porsche, is long."
        big FAT LOLZ there.  When GM closes up, GM's factories are going to
        go idle and rust and provide excellent opporunities for hipster
	...
2008/11/13-26 [Transportation/Car] UID:51959 Activity:kinda low
11/13   I think the American automobile companies and all of the companies
        that depend on them and all of the employees and retirees who depend
        on these companies are going to go bankrupt.  We are truly screwed.
        "lulz".  Any suggestions of where I should move?
        \_ liquidation or restructuring bankruptcy?
           \_ probably restructuring bankruptcy.  but this is at best a lame
	...
2008/11/19-24 [Transportation/Car] UID:52049 Activity:kinda low
11/19   if someone gave you a new GM car, would you take it?
        \_ Do I have to pay taxes on it?
        \_ If it was a corvette, almost certainly (even if I had to pay tax).
           \_ I think this is precisely the point.  I'm sorry, but problem with
              GM is NOT the current financial crisis.  They have not be able
                to make attractive AND reliable product for decades.
	...
2008/9/1-3 [Transportation/Car] UID:51018 Activity:kinda low
9/1     Just saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on ABC Family for the first
        time since I was a kid. Now that I'm grown up, I'm very disgusted
        with the movie. All that pleasant drive in open country with your
        magical car is just illusionary and unsustainable in this world.
        This is a film that GM would have loved to show to kids to get
        them addicted to the world of automobile quagmires. This movie
	...
2006/8/14-16 [Transportation/Car/RoadHogs] UID:43998 Activity:nil
8/14    Hate SUVs? Pledge to give out fake SUV tickets for Failure to
        Care About the Environment:
        http://www.autoblog.com/2006/06/08/greens-issuing-citations-in-uk
        http://www.motherjones.com/news/exhibit/2003/01/ma_221_01.html
        http://www.stopurban4x4s.org.uk/shop.htm#parking
        \_ just give them out to all car owners.   and RIDE BIKE!
	...
2006/8/3-6 [Transportation/Car, Transportation/Car/RoadHogs] UID:43890 Activity:low
8/3     GM did NOT dismantle LA's mass transit. There is no conspiracy.
        The mass transit system failed because of the following reasons:
        -streetcar systems deterioration
        -subsidy of competing systems
        -competition with automobile
        -suburbanization
	...
2006/8/1-6 [Transportation/Car] UID:43860 Activity:nil
8/1     http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14136797
        Big 3 automakers see sharp declines in sales. I guess multi-billion
        dollar advertisements using famous and well liked American Idol
        superstars like Taylor Hicks, "FORD THINK BOLD" with super hot blonde
        women, and all that commercial blitz from Dr. Z saying "Chrysler is
        not dumb American but smart German engineering", all shown on prime
	...
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www.csua.org/u/n1l -> finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article/106247/Even-in-Michigan-Not-Everyone-Wants-a-Lifeline
The New York Times Wander Michigan's cities and towns, and many residents offer the same message about the prospect of a $34 billion bailout of America's automakers: Please provide the help, not just for the sake of the automobile industry and its workers but for all the other people whose jobs are so intricately braided into the state's autocentric economy. But the quiet truth in Michigan, home of the Big Three manufacturers, is that the state is not of one voice on the matter. Other opinions are alive, and they can be just as passionate in opposition to a rescue. This, even though neighbors or friends or parents may have once depended on the industry. This, though speaking for the bailout here is something akin to embracing the Great Lakes or apple pie, as evinced by the letter of support for it signed last month by all of Michigan's Congressional delegation, Democrats and Republicans alike. There have been no statewide opinion polls published on the bailout request, though with Michigan's economy so tied to the industry, those for it undoubtedly outweigh those against, political, economic and polling experts suggest. Still, "there are plenty of people who are rolling their eyes," said Bill Ballenger, editor of the closely followed newsletter Inside Michigan Politics. "You keep your head down if you're one of them, but they're out there," Mr Ballenger said. In interviews across the state over the last two weeks, criticism of the automakers' request surfaced again and again. Many people said they had long watched Michigan's economy strain and falter -- in no few cases causing the collapse of their own employers and loss of their own jobs -- and could no longer see why the Big Three should be singled out for rescue. said Heather Davison, who lives in Davisburg, less than an hour north of Detroit, and has been unemployed for a year. She said General Motors, Ford and Chrysler should have made changes to their cars and work force years ago. "They should have made a car that was more efficient," she said. They should have thought of this, of the need to restructure, a long time ago." Like some others interviewed, Ms Davison was unsparing as well in her criticism of the United Automobile Workers. "I've watched that Ron Gettelfinger on TV," she said of the union's president. "He talks about the need to restructure, but they needed to look at that a long time ago." John Raterink, a tool and machine maker who works at a small shop in Grand Rapids that supplies parts to the auto industry, opposes a bailout even though his livelihood is tethered to the car makers. Mr Raterink, 46, points a finger at the Big Three for a lot of economic misery. "I remember when GM shut down 11 plants, some of which were in the Great Lakes region," he said. It's really hard to feel sorry for a company that's lived so high on the hog." Mr Raterink said he had seen dozens of machine shops like his disappear across western Michigan because of the outsourcing of work to other countries. "If we look at thousands of workers in counties around here, they got no sympathy," he said. As a result of their practices, I haven't seen a raise in six years, and I've seen my health benefits decline." The Big Three's share of the market has dropped 30 percentage points in the last 13 years, to some 44 percent. That plunge has had a ripple effect across the state, home to more than half the people employed nationwide by the Big Three. The state's economy has been in recession for years, with some experts convinced that it never emerged from the last national recession, in 2001. The unemployment rate is 93 percent -- tied with Rhode Island's for the highest in the country -- and the safety net of social services is stretched beyond ability to care for all of those in need. The total of Michigan residents who receive some form of public assistance, like food stamps or home heating credits, is now 182 million, or close to 20 percent of the population, a record for the state. Visit the Insurance Center On top of all that, working people in Michigan are feeling the strain of higher taxes, a result of a state budget shortfall in 2007. But though the failure of any of the auto companies could make life in Michigan harder still, opponents of the rescue stand firm, many convinced that any federal loan would provide only a temporary fix anyway. But bear in mind that we've already been dealing with this since the last quarter of '99. If I have to pull myself up by my own bootstraps, I hope GM faces that same reality of pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps." Jeffrey Kerr, a real estate developer who lives in the Lake Michigan town of Saugatuck, objects to the personal costs that he says come with bailouts. "A bailout will cause a snowballing effect," Ms Weber said, "and it's way too scary how it will come back on all of us." At the shop where Mr Raterink makes tools and machinery, there used to be 15 men. "They weren't offered any bailout," he said of those who lost their jobs. Then, of the Big Three and the mismanagement he perceives, he added, "The wolf you let loose is at your door." All information provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. nor any of independent providers is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein. site, you agree not to redistribute the information found therein. Answers is provided for informational purposes only, and no Q&A is intended for trading or investing purposes. shall not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, usefulness or availability of any Q&A information, and shall not be responsible or liable for any trading or investment decisions based on such information.
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finance.yahoo.com
Oil at $41 All-Time High on Supply Fear Fri 4:08am ET - Reuters Oil prices hit an all-time record on Friday fueled by global economic growth and enduring worries that gasoline supplies will struggle to meet peak summer demand in the United States. No Time is the Right Time for Sub-Prime by Suze Orman My bet is that if your doctor tells you to scale back on the saturated fat to avoid a life-threatening heart disease, you're probably going to listen. Well, for the next few minutes, I am your financial doctor. To Select Great Stocks, Home In On High EPS Ratings Investor's Business Daily Decades of research show earnings power is the biggest factor in a stock's success.