I wonder how many will speak up and tell Congress to try to stop a depression from happening?

[JohnWxy]

if the Big 3 do not get a bridge loan to get through this Credit Catastrophe you can be sure we will have a depression. And many more will be out of work than just those in the auto industry.

How many are not going to just sit there and let it happen to them but instead email your representatives in D.C. to tell them to fight to stop a depression?

It's easy - just go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alert... to send message. Let your voice be heard!!

HERE, HERE'S A SAMPLE MESSAGE YOU CAN USE. JUST CUT AND PASTE. I'M MAKING IT EASY FOR YOU!

I support the $25 billion short-term loans to the auto industry with conditions.

I wonder if those who are balking at lending money to the automakers have considered how much it will cost to feed millions of people who will be out of work when the domestic auto industry goes under (many more than just auto industry workers will be out of work). Also, the number of foreclosures will jump when all these people can't make their house payments. Don't expect these people to find jobs right away as we will be in a depression. Figure on people needing from one to two years to find full-time employment again.

Yes, the Big three could have been better managed but if Congress had not favored the oil industry with tax loop-holes over the last 50 years which kept oil artificially low people would have been buying fewer SUVs and more fuel efficient vehicles. That's what enabled GM, Ford and Chrysler to choose to focus too much on SUVs and not enough on smaller more fuel efficient cars. Yes, domestic automakers coulda shoulda been better managed but they wouldn't be facing bankruptcy right now, if it wasn't for the Credit Catastrophe. Now we are looking at a full fledged depression if they don't get a bridge loan till people start buying again. Don't think that the job losses are going to be limited to the auto industry and their suppliers. When these people are out of work they will curtail their spending and many others will find their services will no longer be needed.

This is the ultimate in stupidity. Cutting off your nose to spite your face. the auto industry problem is just an extension of the Credit Catastrophe. Even with $350 Billion given to banks the credit system is still frozen. The Government is going to have to inject money directly into the economy to get things moving again. The banks are not going to do it. It will be far more difficult and expensive to bring us out of the depression we most certainly will be in if the domestic auto industry is needlessly allowed to go under.



Go ahead, make your voice be heard! You'll feel better for it!

[daninthemoon]

1. Maybe it just has to happen. our world needs a whole new energy plan,

and our current world economy is based on oil. the oil is running out no matter what. our economy is going to have to adapt sooner or later. the American auto industry should have re-tooled and adapted to better mileage and alternate energy cars decades ago. the best choice is for the government to push a wide ranging plan that builds infrastructure and opportunity in alternative energy across the country, like Eisenhowers highways and fdr's public works. any money that would be part of a bailout for the auto industry would be better spent on this. the immediate concern for congress shoudl be how to deal with the temporary loss of the industry, and the workers. If a plan is made to engage these workers in the renewable energy to come, the job losses will be temporary. big problems require big solutions.

[JohnWxy]

2. and we'll be able to adapt and change so much better in the midst of a depression.

Change will require investment.

[daninthemoon]

4. yes, but investment in what? the investment must be in renewable energy,

and the auto industry is a huge part of that. if the fed supports the inferastructure, the auto industry can profit by producing alternative energy cars. the big problem with the auto industry is that thewy should at least have gone for fuel efficency like the Japanese did. going forward, i don't feel like the American auto industry, the execs not the workers, can't be trusted to have the best judgement. so, maybe this just has to happen. sometimes you have to start from scratch.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Letters sent to Clinton and Schumer

[Possumpoint]

5. Are You Out Of Your Mind?

Who are you trying to save? Neither the union workers nor management have made the effort to approach the problem other then to continue the good times. Management sought nothing other then to pursue profits through sales of large gas guzzling vehicles and the unions to protect their high wages and benefit programs.

Regardless of whether they get a bailout or not the US Auto industry cannot survive as now designed. Their production capacity far exceeds the demand consumption of the American public. Product saturation in the US is 981 units per 1000 persons versus 24 per thousand in China. They under current union agreements cannot economically compete with other manufacturers. US Auto Manufacturers must declare bankruptcy and have the ruinous union agreements abridged to meet the current business requirements.

I'm sorry that this will cause so much pain. However, I totally oppose wasting taxpayer money in a temporary support to a dying industry.

[JohnWxy]

10. I already said that the big-3 could have been better managed. They were able to make

money selling SUVs and other gas guzzlers because the Oil industry has been helped out with Tax loop-holes which kept oil/gas prices artificially low and thus millions of people Bought the SUVs and gas gusslers. Whenever democrats tried to up CAFE requirements Republicans stopped them. And yes, the Big-3 fought them too (stupidity!). They took the easy way out. they focused on selling the SUVs because they could. But that's what a lot of people wanted.

Now, the current situation they are in is an extension of the Credit Catastrophe which has collapsed credit and now has everybody worried about the economy so they are buying much less. Also, getting credit to buy a new car is harder. that's how the big-3 sales crashed. Toyota's sales dropped too, - 23%.

I don't believe a bridge loan should be made without conditions, this is obvious. Limits on salaries and wages for starters.

What those who are not looking at this realistically are ignoring is that if the Big-3 go under then the we will go into a DEPRESSION which will affect everybody. If you work producing, supplying essential goods and services then you are in a good place. But anybody else should not think they will be immune to the loss of jobs. When 3 million people are out of work how much will it cost the Governmnent in terms of extended unemployment and what eventually will it cost to feed the people who will be out of work? When 3 million people from the auto industry are out of work this will affect many others outside the auto industry.

NOw, to get our transportation industry adapted to the newer demands - building plug-in hybrids and other efficient technologies (fuel cells) it will be much harder if they are not helped out now. By that I mean if they go under our adaptation to newer more efficient transportation technologies will have to come entirely from Japan and Korea and later India. There will be no domestic manufacturers. This will slow the evolution of transportation to more efficient technologies.

It just makes more sense to keep the big-3 from going under - they can make money and adapt and we do need to keep a domestic transportation manufacturing capability. They are now making hybrids and GM is developing their Volt. But they can't do this if they go under. If they go into bankruptcy they will lose millions of customers and make less money - making less funds available for the needed investment to adapt new technologies thus slowing the change-over.

[girl gone mad]

6. It's going to happen either way.

At this point, depression is unstoppable.

I'm with Volcker that simply throwing money at the auto industry will not solve our problems.

[buzzard]

7. GGM I have to say I agree with most of your gloomy posts because I do believe markets go through

cycles and you may delay the inevitable but it always arrives no matter what.

[CoffeeCat]

9. I see nothing but Depression-like...

...circumstances in our country.

I'm interested in your opinion, since you sound very resolute in your beliefs
about depression being "unstoppable."

When do you believe that the stuff will really hits the fan?

I get the feeling that our entire economy is teetering on the brink.

My husband does not believe that we will go into a Depression. He cites
Krugman and Buffet, to back up his assertions. It's been difficult, because
I am preparing, and he sees no reason to prepare.

I told my husband the other day, "When this happens, I'll be fine--but you're the
one who will be wrecked, because you still believe that people like Warren Buffet
because they're financial king pins and you want to believe that some of the old
stalwarts are still trustworthy."

It doesn't help when Nobel winner Krugman predicts low unemployment.

All I can do is prepare and protect our family for the possibility of a collapse.

[JohnWxy]

11. You'd rather let these companies go under and then feed all the people who will be out of work.

And how soon do you think they will find full employment again? It won't be easy to create 3 milliion new jobs. The big-3 were not perfectly managed but they were making money and keeping people employed (they were selling cars not only in U.S, but in Europe and building a presence in China too). This would all be lost if they go under. Creating 3 million new jobs in an economy that is in depression will not be easy. Actually, it will be more than 3 million jobs needed as many more will lose their jobs as a result of the 3 million auto industry jobs lost.

I did not say depression is inevitable - IF WE provide a bridge loan to the Big-3 to help them through this period of a crash in sales (which is due to the Credit Catastrophe which produced the freeze in credit for everybody) then I don't think we would go into depression. A bad recession we are obviously in for but you can be sure if the auto industry went under then depression would be unavoidable.

Everybody already knows the government is going to have to provide a stimulus package to keep us from sliding into a bad recession. A bridge loan to the Big-3 would help keep the Big -3 from going under and making a depression a sure thing. It's far cheaper to fight off a recession than to dig out of a depression. With a depression we will be spending far more money not only trying to stimulate the economy but we will be paying to feed people who will be out of work for much longer. Also, foreclosures will skyrocket as even more people will not be able to keep up their mortgage payments. This would put the banking industry in even worse shape than they are now.

Avoiding a depression makes sense and it will be far cheaper in the long run plus we will be able to maintain a domestic auto manufacturing capability.

I'm just being realistic, here.

[Possumpoint]

12. Our Current Economy Is Built On Lies

What lies you say? That the Federal Reserve note we call a dollar is real money. It is paper issuing a promise to repay. With it our central bank and our government have developed systems built on debt. They aren't alone, central banks throughout the world are busy doing the same thing. Banks and corporations, seeing a good thing have expanded their debt making capabilities. Debt can be and is being sold to make more debt and wealth for a select few. All went well till the credit bubble started to deflate. Blame whomever you want, sub prime loans, bankers, both political parties, etc. they're all guilty.

This country is now about $10.7 trillion dollars in debt, authorized to go to $11.3 dollars with $75 trillion in unfunded future obligations coming soon. At 5% interest, we'll owe $585 billion dollars interest a year on $11.3 trillion debt. That will be paid from income tax revenue of about $1.4 trillion.

This Nation is at the brink of bankruptcy. We need a depression to clear our the rot, corruption and Federal reserve system. We need to return to a monetary system based on precious metal. A monetary system so based would not be subject to unlimited deficit spending as the Federal Reserve system allows. This Nation needs to convert back to a cash basis backed up by savings. Would a depression cause massive hardship? Hell yes!

The big three US Auto manufactures are about to go bankrupt regardless of any bailout. Both management and the unions have become rigid in their business models and cannot respond to changes in the market place. Don't throw good money (created with debt) after bad.

[abelenkpe]

8. too late

We will have a depression anyway. the management at GM needs to be ousted. Perhaps it would be better to nationalize the auto makers or sell the plants to the employees. But it won't stop the economic catastrophe that is well on its way. throwing money at the automakers with no penalty to those who drove the company into the ground doesn't make sense. there must be some way to help the workers and punish the management. why do these things have to be framed as bad choice A or bad choice B. There should be more discussion and ideas put forward.

[MadinMo]

13. Okay Choice C...... let the employees buy out the companies.

Then they can restructure and spend the money as if their own, since it will be their own.

I don't like either A or B --- bail or let them die. But I agree that it is the Government's fault for cozying up to Big Oil forever and perpetuating the myth that there will always be plenty of cheap fuel.

Its certainly a damned if you and damned if you don't situation right now.