I wasn’t going to join, considering how most people “hate bailouts”, but some statements are out of line:
I am often told I’m crazy for buying American made cars, because foreign cars are built much better. Hell, I bet the streets would be lined up with people willing to do the same job, maybe a better job for half of what these people make now, plus the great health care and pensions they make and then they go on strike for MORE ???????
Union jobs like these make the middle class in this country. Your way of thinking is a slippery-slope and is exactly where the illegal immigration problem comes from. There are always people somewhere who will do the job for less, this doesn’t mean that people should get paid less. Ever wondered why McDonalds workers don’t have union? Ever wondered why McDonald employees often don’t speek English or don’t give 2 sh$ts? Do you want your car made by someone who doesn’t speak English and lacks basic education? And before you say it’s silly, you already eat chicken which has been processed by illegal immigrants, beef processed by illegal immigrants, vegetables picked by illegal immigrants, etc.
Unions are the only reason big corporations share a small percentage of the profits with its workers. And don’t be foolish to think that lower wages will result in lower prices for the consumers, no, it would simply mean more profit for the company and higher stock price. You want to know what the world looks like without unions? Just read on Industial England.
Also, don’t give me the “Asians make better cars” line. All asian cars are junk and I will never own an Asian car, period. I have owned European and US cars and I have NEVER been on the side of the road. With basic maintanance US cars will go a long way before major break-down. I have a ’96 Tahoe which I don’t think about selling, even though I don’t need it. This SUV has 200K+ miles and sits in the driveway collecting dust, but starts instantly, works without a problem and all I have done is change the alternator once, breaks, tires and fluids. Good luck doing so with Asian SUVs.
There are also many benefits to SUVs, especially if you live north of Kentucky. Where I reside currently, I would not trade my SUV for a car no matter what, I just need the SUV. And middle-class families have no problem driving gas-guzzlers, the problem is there are less and less middle-class families, thanks to the idea that corporations can pay their workers less and enjoy the profits from labor-cost cutting.
Finally, YES, give them the bail out and then some. I would much rather see my taxes going to hard working families and keeping their jobs preserved, so they can go in turn and buy products and services and keep the overall economy afloat, than buying a bunch of airplanes from Lockheed Martin, building bridges to nowehre, studying bears’ DNA and a whole set of “projects” with the money going to rich-people-getting-richer. I will pay my taxes regardless; my tax dollars will be spent regardless; I would rather see them getting spent on the well-being of hard-working people!