OT: Automotive Crisis

now thats a good idea, you should make that suggestion to US news outlets, congress men, etc. and if that fails, Saudi Arabia might bail them out. as an aside, a small company drilling for natural gas has found oil in New Brunswick. ruby

I don't know what my Nissan does, but I know I am not often at the pump.

I can't say I have too much sympathy for them, when things were good auto workers were getting $70 per hour ! Incredible, they had to know it had to end. In addition the execs busy flying around in corporate jets did not appreciate people liked the smaller, more economic Japanese models and the rest is history.

I don't believe they can be fixed, better they start all over again from scratch with none of the silly old ideas.

Amalgamate all three of them so they can eng. one good brand. It is ridiculous that a $6000 computer in one GM product won't work in another GM product or in a Chrysler product, etc. etc. If there was a common computer ie. similar to a laptop you could take out of the vehicle - guess what?? No more drive away car thefts. Now what was the password again??LOL.

Wanna bet - for every dollar the big three get, bombardier gets at least three! Coalition or no Coalition!!!

As an added safety precaution for the money given (actually the gommermint should just buy bonds issued by the new company) - for every ten jobs out sourced out of the country, out source one V.P.

Fred

unfortunately it is the benefits which are killing them, the lay off pay, the pensions , that and the competition foreign built in USA workers get $30 dollars less an hour. a bail out is only staving off the inevitable. They also neglected to mention that they have not worked out the problems with the battery for this new car they are bringing out in 2010. The car looks great but the battery's don't work. typical. and don't worry sheena we Canadians contribute on a regular basis to auto company bail outs. A couple of those companies simply will go under, so its now or its two , three years from now. I will drive away in my honda, which is both fuel efficient and has many less parts that things can go wrong with. It is better engineered, easier maintained and is worth half what we paid in a trade in and that was 5 years ago. Silly me drove American cars until 5 years ago, the van that the paint peeled off of, the pontiac that stalled several times a day in all kinds of weather I could go on and on, tried them all. I was one of these patrotiac types trying to do my bit for the Canadian worker, but there is only so long one is willing to wait for those companies to get it and get their act together. so hopefully those auto workers have savings instead of just a mansion's full of toys. Ruby

Whatever, but I don't believe autoworkers were hurting in any way for a job that did not involve huge amounts of brain power. I would feel more inclined to pay a plumber more, he/she has to fold themselves into some abysmal contortions.

Agreed. I did hear at least one exec was prepared to work for $1 for the next year, but it was carefully worded for one year. At the salary he was paid previously, he could certainly afford one year of austerity lol

The cuts should definitely start at the top and work its way down. At the salary and perks given to the execs, they could probably live comfortably

Lucille

Vic what is COBRA ? I know you have mentioned it a couple of times and I meant to ask.

I don't remember what the letters stand for but it's a law that allows you to keep the group health insurance you had when you were working for I believe 18 months, but at an exorbitant rate. For those who have a preexisting condition it's great because you can't be turned down and this gives you time to look for an appropriate coverage and/or a new job that will provide coverage.

NO!!!! For a very short while, many months ago it was. The last time I checked it was around 78 US cents for 1 Canadian dollar. Jim.

There are several CEOs here south of the border now saying that. They can well afford it.

I don't believe in total nationalization; however the bonus system has been abused. I agree, if you can run a business profitably, there is something called profit sharing, which all employees can receive, proportionate to their work. Some of the CEOs have just gone truly overboard with the profits, stock options etc.

I worked as a part-time employee of H&R Block for several years. Because I worked 1000hrs annually, I was allowed to participate in such plans, and stock options. They were small amounts, overall, but incentives. Maybe such incentives should be given to all employees, in much smaller amounts, rather than to the hierarchy.

And this from a diehard Republication. I still believe firmly in COMMON SENSE!!

I felt that that was part of my meagre pay

Gill

From the Wiki article: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, or COBRA, is a law passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Reagan that, among other things, mandates an insurance program giving some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving employment.

Essentially, what most people relate to is that you must be allowed to continue your insurance. There are many other things included in the COBRA law. It was signed into being when I was first working for the fed, and remember vaguely reading all the things it affected.

Ellice

Yup, we have the big engine. Yours is probably 5 liter, ours is 5.4 or something. It definitely runs a bit better, as the engine firing is tuned for that higher octane. I used to use the 87, but we switched about 2 years ago, and it's really done better - even with the relatively high mileage.

True, however - if you were following immediately after, one of them was already in the process of divesting their private fleet. They won't be poor, but at least one of them had already made steps to have the company, and his execs be more fiscally responsible.

Ellice

I do have some respect for the CEO of Ford who stated that if his company had to draw on taxpayer dollars, he would drop his salary to $1/yr. Seems logical to me. Not to mention, a personal incentive to

OTOH, there's been a storm in the Baltimore papers about the mayor and city council voting themselves a pay increase although there's a spending freeze and drastic cuts in other areas of the city budget. And they weren't even apologetic about it -- that is, until *after* the firestorm in the press. Well, DUH!! Did they think nobody would notice? And the mayor initially made some comments about "For the job I do 24/7, and I have a daughter in college...", implying she deserved it. Two days later she had an epiphany and donated the raise (2.5% cost of living) to a city charity. (As my husband pointed out, it still means the city has to write a check, even if it comes back to them - minus taxes!)

sue

The way I read it he was willing to work for a year for a $1 salary. I wondered, did that mean no more spa membership - no more club memberships - no more expense tabs everywhere ? I am sure the actual cash salary is the very least of some very expensive perks ! He has already been paid such an astronomical salary with perks that one year thinned down, doesn't mean too much.

I'm not particularly impress by these gestures of good will. They made millions and if they're as intelligent as they are supposed to be to head such large companies, they have made good personal investments. I think they could live out the rest of their lives in luxury at $1.00 a year.

There was plenty of coverage here in the far-away DC area of the Baltimore issue. But, hey, now we have Illinois continuing in the traditions set by the first Mayor Daley (sp?) . Great skit on Saturday Night Live last night. This morning on Meet The Press David Gregory interviewed the Illinois Attorney General - that was a bit bizarre - on both ends - her case being they're trying to have the governor removed as he is unable to govern, David Gregory doing the "shouldn't you wait til a trial or criminal findings?" and querying the AG about her political ambitions, then followed by the Lt Gov, who evidently hasn't actually spoken to the Gov since Aug 07 - because the governor doesn't want to speak with him because the Lt Gov headed up some effort of anti-corruption. Honestly. Makes Marion Barry seem run of the mill.

Ellice