forgive me for not being able to read the whole artical but im pressed for time heh the whole working to much stuffs really starting to catch up to me

any who heres my 2 cents on the auto industry iv lived in MI my whole life.
i have many friends that work for factories in my town (Howell) that do alot of work for the big 3 or companies that supply the big 3 with parts ect. (there are at least 3 or 4 in my town and more in Brighton the town next to me). Now in my opinion if any part of the big 3 goes under people thousands of people like me will be screwed. the factories have already been shutting down left and right or cutting back and i mean way back going from 3 shifts of 85 workers to on 12 hour or less shift.

dont get me wrong im not trying to pull the "wo is me" card here but put your self in my shoes 20 years old and living back with my dad because theres no work hell its hard to get into a mcdonalds any more around here. go to school is what your going to say next i bet, well for you out there that arent 20 its not exactly that easy. ever tried pulling a loan with no credit haha not going to happen. so dont be to quick to pull out the axe and cut off the head of the giant because some of us in my neck of the woods rely on it.

so now i can go to explaining why GM FORD and DAIMLER got them selves it to the perdicament in the first place once is thinking they are god. heh quite frankly they dont care about how good there cars are nore do they care what kind of gas milage they get because they know the american family is going to by it ether way. hell the use government told them they hat to meet a 23mpg standerd by 2013 or something like that why not now?

but i have to say what really sealed the fate of the car companies was the union, and the sad part is most people in america dont even know how bad they are or that they were even part of the problem. see when you pay some 55 year old bum 60 bucks an hour to run a line or sweep a floor thats where you have problems. they signed a damn agreement that said they have to pay a worker is full wages for up to 2 years....2YEARS if they get laid off. i mean come on thats just the stupidest thing i have ever herd of.
they sleep on the job all the time iv witnessed it my self my old mans company did work at the plants. they would sabatash his site to get the steel cutting smoke to poor into the shop so they could have a day off.

its greedy ignorant groups of people like that that caused this industry to fail. so now that you have a little more of the facts that people dont always tell you mabe you cant me a fair judgment as god me i have to start looking to move out of the state because if this does go down every one i know is doomed to the unemployment line if they even qualify for that.

thats my 2 cents take it as you will

sin,
Neonine

Originally posted by cognoscente
As things are heading, there will be a massive redistribution of wealth to other parts of the world. Only by embracing globalism, free trade, and competition (we've forgot what this means) can we ensure the financial success of our country.

I agree. But then don't complain about your 401k. This redistribution means you may lose money. It's not confined to corporations. It also hits you in your pocketbook.

[edit on 19-11-2008 by astron1000]

Originally posted by duster
Those who have already worked their 30 or 40 years. Should we just watch them dry up and blow away?

If they worked 30 or 40 years at those wages and benefits then they should have set themselves up for retirement by now. If they still have tip top skills and they are worth what they've been getting paid, they should have no problem finding a job eventually when things turn around.

There is no free lunch, at least not all the time.

Originally posted by astron1000
Losing the Big 3 means losing thousands of small parts manufacturers. Losing them means the end of AMERICAN car parts suppliers. You won't be able to get that replacement brake pad. Why? Because the small company in Ohio that makes that brake pad just went out of business. Because their major client went bankrupt.

How much do you propose we give the autos? How many dollars will keep them at a break even level, and for how long?

Letting the US automakers go bankrupt will doom the fuel-cell and electric car in the US. the foreign car makers will have no incentive to make electric or fuel cell cars if the have no competition from the US automakers.

They also will not have access to the research and patents for the fuel cell and battery tech of US companies.
So they will have to steal this tech and then they would be banned by customs from importing these car into the US under US patent protection laws.
The Chinese have long counterfeited US patent protected products when they are found at US ports they are seized and destroyed.

This would cause any new American clean car technology to be sold to companies overseas and the jobs in this technoligy will go with it and not stay in the US

I agree with neonine if this goes down, everyone will notice,i smell fear and panic ,Asian markets followed the DOWn,i am taking tomorrow off to see where this goes,below 8000.bad news indeed

another side note to people out there that don't think this is that big a deal. iv been looking to move over seas and look for work while I'm young and Australia has always been on the top of my list of places to go. any who i listen to there abc news (like our national news but its on the radio 24/7) even are laying and ostridge egg over this one and there going to be the least effected.