General Motors bankruptcy: Questions and answers for consumers

Susan wrote:

I've got a question for anyone who will answer it. You seem to go after the union with a vengenance. You say they drove GM & Chrysler to this end. I would like to know what you feel a working man's wage should be. One where he can own a home, raise a family, buy a car, have insurance and put a child through college. I would really like the answer to this question. No smart comments please. I'm sure other people would like to know the same thing. Thank you!!

$25 - 30,000! Let you kid pay his own way to college - it's part of the experience. Buy a used car, you don't need a new one. Kids cost money, it's your choice if you have one. This isn't like welfare where you get more pay for pushing out kids.
Buying a house isn't necessary either. You can always rent.
If you think you need more money, look for another career.

Susan wrote:

I've got a question for anyone who will answer it. You seem to go after the union with a vengenance. You say they drove GM & Chrysler to this end. I would like to know what you feel a working man's wage should be. One where he can own a home, raise a family, buy a car, have insurance and put a child through college. I would really like the answer to this question. No smart comments please. I'm sure other people would like to know the same thing. Thank you!!

I don't know if one can really put a dollar value to answer your question. I guess it would depend on the work.

If we took two street sweepers and one swept 1 block an hour and the other swept two blocks an hour shouldn't the man who sweeps two get paid more regardless of what a working wage is?

If min wage is $7 an hour and the majority of sweepers can sweep 2 blocks an hour and do so for min wage, the man who can only sweep 1 block an hour is out of a job. Even if he's willing to take less. That man now becomes a drain on society because society won't allow him the pride of doing the best he can for what the market will pay him.

As far as Unions go, well they have done some great work in the past. They have made work conditions much safer. The problem with the Unions is not the wage. It's not even really the labor. It is in part the Union Leaders (who make C-level money from the workers checks) and it is the lifetime pention pay.

People should get paid for the work they do, it may be a penny an hour, it may be 1k per minute. But if a person is not doing their work and they are let go, it should not be a big ordieal and the company should not have to continue to pay that person because they were part of a union and can't find another job.

Does that make sense?

Of course it's a company in China that bought Hummer!

That's just perfect!

Big Brother wrote:

What ultimately took down GM dates back to the 70's when churning out the same old garbage with planned obselescence year after year was the rule. By the time the foreign competitors took over by demonstrating superior quality and fuel efficiency were what the consumer really wanted, they had lost a large customer base who never came back. Add to this the catering to big oil by consitantly dragging it's feet on prioritizing fuel economy, this day was destined to come sooner or later. Despite the gloomy economy, you don't see much of a drop in demand for Toyota Priuses right now...
The saddest part of all this is, no matter how much restructuring gets done, the GM that emerges in a few months still has to try to sell cars to a country full of people who are either unemployed, or are dealing with severe household cutbacks as they deal with lower pay, benefits, but still RISING TAXES and INSURANCE PREMIUMS.....

You my friend are cluess! The foreign cars have NEVER had superior gas mileage. I recall the SPRINT and METRO in the mid and late 80s that got 60mpg. What changed that was 'safety'. The exact same models today are 1000lbs heavier.

On the side note a pushrod V-8 (in the G8) with more weight gets nearly identical gas mileage as a 3.5 Honda or Nissan motor. Wake up or SHUT UP!

Big Brother wrote:

What ultimately took down GM dates back to the 70's when churning out the same old garbage with planned obselescence year after year was the rule. By the time the foreign competitors took over by demonstrating superior quality and fuel efficiency were what the consumer really wanted, they had lost a large customer base who never came back. Add to this the catering to big oil by consitantly dragging it's feet on prioritizing fuel economy, this day was destined to come sooner or later. Despite the gloomy economy, you don't see much of a drop in demand for Toyota Priuses right now...
The saddest part of all this is, no matter how much restructuring gets done, the GM that emerges in a few months still has to try to sell cars to a country full of people who are either unemployed, or are dealing with severe household cutbacks as they deal with lower pay, benefits, but still RISING TAXES and INSURANCE PREMIUMS.....

I shall further expose your ignorance by letting you know that GM from top to bottom average MORE mpgs than Toyota.

and last of all stop by ANY Toyota dealer and ask them if they are giving 1000 rebates for the Prius. Guess what GENIUS they are! Why because gas came down and people suddenly didn't want to pay 40,000 for a few mpgs more.

Do us a favor and leave you are clearly factless and live on misinformation presented by the media and fueled by your ignorant anger over your miserable life.

Bob wrote:

how is this fair to Ford?
because there supply chains won't fail? come on, the whole industry needs to be revamped, it would have worked it self out.
Sick of the TOO BIG to fail theory....

Remember, liberals have a Utopian view of making everything "equal". The problem, though, that in order to get there, they have to treat people and entities unequally.

It's even worse for Ford than you allude to. If Ford takes advantage of the chaos created and fostered by Obama, Obama and the liberals will work to limit Ford.

This is what liberals do with all success: they work to stifle it.

It's all the same pattern with them for everything. Whether it's decimating the inner cities to keep everyone "equal", to ruining the best parts of healthcare to make sure everything is "equal", to turning criminals into victims, to making sure alternate school systems fail, to propping up the terrorists who run the Palestinians and undermining Israel, etc., Liberals work to tear down everything that is good, successful and right while elevating everything that is evil, failed and wrong so we come to a middle ground where there is nothing to fight over.

It's the liberal Utopia and the reality is we all suffer under it.

To learn more, watch and study the video "How Modern Liberals Think" by Evan Sayet at
youtube.com/watch... .

It's very, very good.

a reader wrote:

<quoted text>
Utter socialistic nonsense. They deserve to be gone and NOT taxpayer supported.

OK a_reader, what's your solution to the 2+ million that would be unemployed were GM, Chrysler, and probably Ford were to be totally liquidated as planned by your play book. HUH?
Would you help all those people? And how?
I bet you wouldn't give them a dime. And why should you care, you're still employed. But what happens when your firm locks up and dumps you too because all those auto employees are no longer patronizing your business?
Then what?
We all don't live in a vacuum. Everyone's actions, hardships and successes affects everyone else whether you realize it or not.

There was NEVER any total liquidation in play, in place or in consideration. The fear managed campaign to hastily take over the American Auto companies - GM & Chrysler worked for the Obama administration.

Now, only time will tell if the move willactually save any jobs that weren't going to be cut anyway. Bankruptcy provides for eliminating debt and resturcturing the company.

JBNIUTech wrote:

<quoted text>
OK a_reader, what's your solution to the 2+ million that would be unemployed were GM, Chrysler, and probably Ford were to be totally liquidated as planned by your play book. HUH?
Would you help all those people? And how?
I bet you wouldn't give them a dime. And why should you care, you're still employed. But what happens when your firm locks up and dumps you too because all those auto employees are no longer patronizing your business?
Then what?
We all don't live in a vacuum. Everyone's actions, hardships and successes affects everyone else whether you realize it or not.