Beginning of the end for US car makers?

[Sunray]

So I make shit cars and no-ones buying them and then I complain because the government won't give me any money to bail me out?
The chickens are coming home to roost

No-one's buying them because nobody can get a loan to buy them. Hence the sudden drop off in sales.

Nothing anyone has done is looking like changing that in even the medium term.

 

[TheDave]

The Republicans want to destroy unions anyway. They keep floating this myth that they are paid $70 an hour which is bullshit, that's the figure you get when you factor in the pensions and health care obligations that the companies have to meet. The take home pay is not hugely different from the non-union workers in the foreign car companies plants. Plus a lot of the Republicans who blocked this deal have their own state interests because they have foreign car companies in their states. If the big 3 do go south the ripple affect is going to devastating. Remember what happened to British manufacturing in the 80's? Remember the effect it had on some communities in Britain? It's going to a 100x worse in the US.

If they can cling on till January 20th Obama will most likely do something about it. This transition phase is fucking ridiculous though.

 

[kyser_soze]

Yeah, BHO will let them go to the wall, being Mr Chicago school.

That $70 an hour total liability is what's cruicfying them - I remember reading a stat that said that something like $1500 of each car sold is pension and medical costs.

 

[TheDave]

Yeah $70 bucks an hour is obviously back breaking, I just disagree with the disingenuous nature of Republicans trying to make people think that this figure is take home wage. The Republicans tried to put forward their own deal which basically meant the unions and the workers basically giving up all rights to medical care and pensions plus a taking a pay cut across the board. Where the hell were these Republicans when the banks came to Washington asking for money?

Obviously the car companies have been running unsustainable business models for years and producing junk that nobody but the most blinkered patriot would want to buy, but why because of a few short-sighted executives should 3 million plus people be at risk of losing their jobs?

 

[kyser_soze]

Where the hell were these Republicans when the banks came to Washington asking for money?

They very nearly yanked everything in the HoR over the first and second proposals on the bailout - in fairness to the hardline libertarians, there were more than a few who were 'Fuck them, the US taxpayer isn't here to bail them out'.

Not that I disagree with your statement about them being disingenuous about this tho...