Fox, you just had the mayor of Lansing on, and he is essentially saying that America needs to be more like China and Korea, using “government” money (i.e., tax revenue paid by you and me) to pay the automakers’ debt. He wants “the government” to subsidize the auto industry like it does the agricultural industry, rather than allowing the auto companies to succeed and fail based on a market economy. Apparently he wants communism. That’s just plain scary. His community has thrived thanks to the benefits of capitalism, and his citizens did not make sure that their industry adapted with the times in order to continue to provide such prosperity. Because of their failure to efficiently exploit opportunities in recent decades and live within their means, capitalism is no longer working for them like it once did, so he wants to shift gears (pun intended) to start acting like China. I can hear the Chinese laughing right now while he cries foul. Gee, I live and work in Chicago, and I provide services to small business owners. I have a lot invested in my business and in my education. But if my business fails, I will not get a check from the government. If thousands of other entrepreneurs and professionals in my community fail, too, our community will suffer, but we will not get a dime from “the government”. The auto workers will not help bail us out. So quit your crying mayor and do more to diversify your community so it doesn’t fail when one industry becomes inefficient!!

Fox, you just had the mayor of Lansing on, and he is essentially saying that America needs to be more like China and Korea, using “government” money (i.e., tax revenue paid by you and me) to pay the automakers’ debt. He wants “the government” to subsidize the auto industry like it does the agricultural industry, rather than allowing the auto companies to succeed and fail based on a market economy. Apparently he wants communism. That’s just plain scary. His community has thrived thanks to the benefits of capitalism, and his citizens did not make sure that their industry adapted with the times in order to continue to provide such prosperity. Because of their failure to efficiently exploit opportunities in recent decades and live within their means, capitalism is no longer working for them like it once did, so he wants to shift gears (pun intended) to start acting like China. I can hear the Chinese laughing right now while he cries foul. Gee, I live and work in Chicago, and I provide services to small business owners. I have a lot invested in my business and in my education. But if my business fails, I will not get a check from the government. If thousands of other entrepreneurs and professionals in my community fail, too, our community will suffer, but we will not get a dime from “the government”. The auto workers will not help bail us out. So quit your crying mayor and do more to diversify your community so it doesn’t fail when one industry becomes inefficient!

ABSOLUTELY MR. CLAUDHAMMER…….NO..NO..NO..NO…..I CANT SCREAM IT LOUD ENOUGH…NO MONEY TO THE BIG 3 FOR A HANDOUT..UP..DOWN…IM OUTRAGED!!!!!!!!!! MY HUSBAND’S BUSINESS THAT HE WORKS FOR HAS HAD TO LET GO OF 40 PEOPLE, THEY HAVE HAD TO TAKE PAY CUTS AND RESTRUCTURE AND RE- GROUP AND REORGANIZE….. I HOLD 3 COLLEGE DEGREES AND DO NOT MAKE MONEY LIKE THOSE AUTO WORKERS……..AND PAYING THE JOB BANK….. GET RID OF THE UNIONS THEY ARE DESTROYING THIS NATION!!!!!!! LET THEM HAVE TO DO WHAT ALL LITTLE COMPANIES HAVE TO DO!!!!! FAIL OR BANKRUPTCY

I do not agree with the big 3 bailout. The UAW should make big concessions. As a firefighter that was laid off for three years, I was forced to sign up for state unemployment benefits at less that half of my salary. With three children I had to look for part time work. Why does an employee of the big three thing they have it hard if they get laid off and still get 90 percent of their salary.. When can I get laid off and get 90 percent for sitting at home on my butt. BTW, they get the 90 percent for three years..

OMG!!!! SCAR TACTIS…..NO NO NO….NO BAIL OUTS BYE-BYE. DETROIT BYE-BYE LANSING AS YOUR PEOPLE KNOW IT. RESTRUCT LIKE OTHER AMERICANS HAVE HAD TO WHEN THINGS IN HISTORY HAVE FAILED. START OVER AND DO IT RIGHT THIS TIME. GET RID OF THE UNIONS HEY HAVE LONG OUT LIVED THERE USEFULNESS HERE IN THE US.

I am a carpenter and my wife is a real estate broker. We have been hit extremely hard by this economic down-turn. The problem that I have with this so called bridge loan is what makes auto worker jobs so much more valuable to the economy? If the government is going to finance the building of cars that nobody wants to buy they should come on down to florida and start pulling permits to build houses nobody wants. Hey just think of all the jobs that would save .This is AMERICA if you build something that folks do not want then you try anew approach or go under. this whole discussion would be comical if it was not so scary.

As a avid fox fan,republican and most all a totally disabled GM/UAW worker who just loss my dear wife and still 1 dependent I now have to pay for all my sons Dr’s visits and mine until medicare kicks in a loan is about me not the big three. My wife and I built and paid our 11% home loan in 10 years threw sweat and no goverment bailout for a huge home we did not need. I do not here you conplaining half as much about someone way over there head getting a cheap loan from us taxpayers.

Still Love You Guys and Girls. You have been my savoirs since my wife’s death. Keep up the good work.

Gary in NY

NO – NO – NO LOAN OR BAIL-OUT!
This whole failure of the big three has been coming for over a decade. They’re all trying to be the manufacturers of all things to all people…..compacts, to midsized, to sedans, to vans, SUVs, and trucks. Too many models, too much customizing, not enough ‘packaging’, too much influence from the unions, causing exorbitant costs and resulting high prices. GM needs to eliminate Pontiac and Hummer, and streamline the rest of the line, as does Chrysler and Ford.

Buying an American car shouldn’t be like going to a big flea market where there is so much choice, it boggles the mind. We don’t need all the choices the big 3 offer. What we do need is more efficient, alternate energy cars.

Bailing them out is a travesty to the rest of us Americans, especially business owners. The whole country is suffering from this economically troubled time. Let all three reorganized under bankruptcy. It ought to teach them all many over-due lessons, starting with the big fat unions. And the CEOs need to ask themselves the question, how many cars do I have to sell to pay my big fat salary?

I CAN SEE THE MILLIONS OF DISCRIMINATION LAWSUITS THAT WILL BE FILED AGAINST OUR
GOVERNMENT FROM BUSINESSES THAT NOW NEED “TAXPAYER MONEY” TO BAIL OUT THEIR
“PRIVATE” COMPANIES IF OUR GOVERNMENT (WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE) BAILS OUT
THOSE AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS.

NO BAILOUT FOR “ANYBODY”, LET THE FREE MARKET DECIDE WHO GOES UNDER AND WHO
IS COMPETITIVE AND THRIVES.

THE UNIONS, FREDDIE MAC & FANNIE MAE, DEMOCRATS LIKE BARNEY FRANK AND MAXINE WATERS, PEOPLE TAKING OUT LOANS THAT THEY CANT AFFORD….THOSE ARE THE REASONS
THEY (NOT THE TAXPAYER) ARE IN THIS MESS.

IF THE GOVERNMENT USES TAXPAYER MONEY TO ILLEGALLY BAIL OUT PRIVATE COMPANIES, WE SHOULD ALL STOP PAYING TAXES, PERIOD END OF CONVERSATION.

NO BAILOUT-NO WAY, NO HOW! The biggest catastrophe would be to saddle the country with any more debt we didn’t ask for, but were forced to take on.
I am stunned the news media keeps talking about how they drove in. Who cares, they already ‘flew’ in – that was enough for me. It’s like going to bankruptcy court wearing a big old diamond ring! Give us citizens a break!
How did it go from one amount the first go round – to coming back to ask for three times the amount, and the audacity to say they will be back for more!!!! ENOUGH!!!! Our reps better listen to the people they represent and not bail these guys out! They work for us, not against us! Bankruptcy is the only viable option, screw Pelosi – they’re in the tank for the big 3 because they gave bunches of money to the campaign, that’s too bad – I didn’t see a dime so why should I have to be on the hook for their screw ups. NO! NO! NO!

The media commentators and the congressional folks need to understand that this is a LOAN – not a bailout like Wall Street – who by the way, have NO restrictions, have NOT been grilled on TV, etc.

The american automotive manufactures need to have this loan and should get it! All I have heard over the last several weeks have been how much money they make plus benefits, etc! All the CEO’s have agreed to work for $1 year – I don’t remember hearing anything about how many benefit cuts have been taken from Wall street CEO’s. Oh, that’s right – they got the money, no strings attached and got to go on vacation at private spas with the tax payers money! I didn’t hear any noise about that!!

Let Congress take a pay cut and cut back on their retirement packages! They are quite healthy!!

LOAN THE MONEY TO THE American Automakers!!

No bailout or the euphemistic term: “loan.” (It is the same thing.) Just a couple weeks ago, the Big Three wanted an additional $25 billion after securing the first $25 billion in September. Now, they arrive and want $34 billion. The price tag keeps soaring. A recent economist actually places the whole price tag between $75 billion to $125 billion with no guarantees the Big Three will survive. The sooner they enter bankruptcy the better. Bankruptcy is not the end of the world. However, it allows a third party to handle affairs preventing interference from the labor unions and management. It is a hard pill to swallow but allowing time to restructure is the best medicine.

Why not have the Big 3 agree to the bailout if they promise to get rid of the high paid union workers and hire some of the 500k people looking for work. Pay them a reasonable hourly rate and low and behold you might even become profitable once again. There once was a place for unions, but they should be a thing of the past. Get up with the times.

We three kings from Michigan are,
Begging for dough to help us build cars—
Hedging, betting, no longer jet-setting,
With congressmen we will spar.

Ohhhhh, save us now! The end is nigh!
Unemployment will be sky high!
Forget on the street we can’t compete,
And give until the well is dry!

This we pledge: we promise clean air.
Cars will burn money, not oil, this we swear.
With enough, we won’t go bust,
And keep at $1 per share.

Ohhhhh, save us now! The end is nigh!
Unemployment will be sky high!
Forget on the street we can’t compete,
And give until the well is dry!

NO BAILOUT!!!!

I worked for Countrywide during the whole Mortgage crisis, and when we got bought-out by Bank of America, the first thing they did was cut thousands of jobs. I think it is ridiculous to think that while millions of americans are sitting at home with no “light at the end of the tunnel”, per se, the Executives of these auto makers are still raking in millions. I work for one of the big 3 auto makers now, and am still against the bailout. The government needs to focus more on its citizens rather than corporate companies. I am a staunch republican and totally against ALL corporations. The money the Big 3 want, should go to welfare reform, or free health insurance. When I was in the military stationed in Germany, I saw a country who actually cares about its citizens unlike the nation we live in today. If the millions of people on unemployment or welfare had even a small piece of what these companies are asking for, you would see the economy coming back to normal levels, but no, because this country has got to the point of being totally focused on greed and power, Darwin’s theory of “Survival of the fittest” proves true. If you are not a millionaire CEO or head of a corporation, then you the American taxpayer is the one who has to suffer. I think there should be some level of accountability for these execs. Hold them personally responsible for the company they are running financial responsibilities.

Barney Frank was influential in changing the uptick rule within the the stock market, and was influential in changing loan requirements of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This one man has brought our entire economy almost to its knees, then sits on a committee questioning automaker CEO’s failures. This hypocrite should be banned from any political position. We are in a recession, which I believe will eventually lead to a depression if these bailouts continue. Unemployment is higher than it has been in years, and housing is at a standstill. How many cars do the Big Three think they’re going to sell?

they are worth saving. they could make a lot more money if they would pay more attention to thier consumers. have you ever seen an obese person get in and try to drive a new car. not only is it sad but unsafe

I agree with a rescue plan with conditions
1 Down Size acordingly
2 Re open contracts with UAW no Job bank, Make workers to participate in health insurance cost as any other American worker, No Cost of living Allowance(COLA)
4 Pensions shold e based on 401K worker contributons and Ccompany matching funds
5 Limit Higher management salaries to no ore than $500.000/ year
6 No management bonus until companies pay back tax payers the rescue loans.
7 Tax Incenties forAmericans buyig American cars

Questions for Snator Shelby and oponents of te rescue plan

1 How much of your Tax Payers money has been given to subsidize oreign car manufacturers?
2 Where Profits from Foreign Car Manufacturers go? are they reinested in the U.S. or repatriated to the Contry of Origin.
3 Do Countries like Japan play a fair game when it comes to allowing American Products to be sold in Japan?

Lets start a campaign ” Americans buy American”

If we let the American Car Industrie go down, the Trucking Industrie will be next and at the current Oil import level our transportation industrie basically will be in the hands of foreign governments, which in turn is bad for our Natioal Security.

What wasgood for GM was good for the US; What is bad for GM and the American Auto Industry will be the begining of the American Industrie fall in the world.

No bailout unless the auto companies and union agree to renegoiate a new conract to get in line with othe auto workers in the US.

I think that the potential job losses and the effect on the economy if any of the big 3 go under are vastly overstated. If they go out of business it just means that the demand for new vehicles will be filled by other suppliers. It is more than likely that other manufacturers would boost their US prouduction to fill the gap rather than import more vehicles as this would be more cost effective. Therefore at least some of the prodution jobs (as well as parts suppliers)are likely to be there in the future, just not for GM or at the inflated UAW costs of labor. Also, all of politicians that support the bailout cite the ancillary job losses such as dealerships and mechanics. This is ridiculous, people will still buy cars and have to fix them and these jobs will still exist, just not at big 3 dealerships!

The one obvious way that the government could help is to directly finance purchase of autos as the dealers cannot get the already bailed out financial companies to provide financing for autos. I would love to see the finance companies taken out of the business and hear the screem.