Saturday, December 06, 2008

3 Million Jobs at Stake in the Auto Industry, and Where is Paulson ? WHY the Hell is he Missing? Cuz he is in China....

Yeah,click the title to read more...but the point is that he is meeting with People In China...while American Workers are Facing Another HUGE Stress and Worry of losing Car Industry Jobs....he should have been here at the Hearings....( So should have Labor and Commerce Secretaries).....I have voiced concerns about handing the Car CEO's money...but that does not mean that some real problem solving and brainstorming should not be done for the workers and their families....

Could the Car Companies be an asset in these times, could be they be made to make faster mass Transit ? Like Magetic Light Rail ,which creating rail would give renewed vigoration to the Steel Industry ? or Energy Effecient Buses ? WHO makes Buses now ? And how about Energy Effecient Semi's and Trucks ? Seems like any of these programs would give work to thousands....

Sunday Dec7th Update....

Okay now I am more confused..the Auto Companies want Bailout to finance their Bankruptcies ? This Bloomberg article explains more.....

And then there was an article in the LA TImes about GM's Foreign Divisions, and how well they are doing,I am puzzled WHY that did not come out during the hearings last week, but also WHY if those divisions are doing well, those are not being explored for the American Plants.

3 comments:

D.K. Raed said...

I don't know what to make of the Bloomberg article. I guess it's like when you take out a small loan, you owe the lender, but if you take out a large enough loan, the lender owns you. Debt restructuring during a bankruptcy requires either loans or an influx of capital from willing investors. No one is loaning money now & who is willing to invest in our auto industry?

Enigma, I'm also afraid that any govt contracts for building much needed light rail or mass transit systems will not be awarded to the auto industry. They will go to contractors who specialize in this, businesses who have built these products here & elsewhere so they know what they're doing & have known costs & can prepare a believeable bid. I'm afraid the Big 3 would bid anything to get awarded the contract and then just keep coming back for more.

Finally, I don't know why Paulson is in China, but it is very suspicious that some banks who didn't even ask for or want TARP money & have no intention of lending it to US consumers or businesses are sending their share to invest in the Bank of China. Coincidence?

enigma4ever said...

Ahhhh DK....
I know they could not make it all , but I was thinking if atleast some of it could a part of their skills...ie. the Seats or engines etc...that way they are retrained for a sustainable FUTURE oriented job...and that there will be something for them...

About the Bank of China- that is one angle that has been worrying me too...and also that the China Car Industry is faltering and there were meetings there last week about it ( and articles in China and Asia Papers....it bothers me- because it sends a strange messege of WHO is being heard right now ? by Paulson)....

D.K. Raed said...

Good ideas about some of the parts, although I think the Big 3 farm most of that stuff out! Most of the mass transit mfrs are names like Siemons, Nisson, Sumitomo, but Chrysler has a diesel city bus in their product line.

Neil Young had an idea about the Big 3 continuing to produce vehicle SHELLS for right now, just to keep from having to lay everyone off. He says the shells will be the same for electric or hybrid vehicles, so they could be used for that technology.

I listened to an NPR report about living in China and I have to say, if the price of their economic boom, westernization, etc, is so many health problems related to pollution and toxic contaminants, then I can't believe they are rushing in that direction. You'd think they'd have learned from the industrialized nations' mistakes. But if we believe Paulson Bernake et al, our whole system of credit wouldn't exist without China investment, so how do we get out of this mess?