Saving General Motors

[texassierradude]

Originally Posted by PRO_USA1776

I don't really see the problem with the US government helping out GM and Ford. It is what Asian countries and european ones do for their manufacturers. What is good for the Goose should be good for the Gander! Besides that GM Ford and Chrysler helped us win WWII. Time for the American government to step up. It seems to me that the US governments job is to help US companies when necessary! If the rest of the world doesn't like it, then up theirs!

AMEN!!!!

[GMJoe]

How about a tax holiday.

Absolve all true domestic brands( GM, Ford and Chrysler) from any taxes for two or three years so they can use that money to improve their model lineups ,shore up their finances,and become more competitive.

[redimpss5]

Crikey..again.

[ericmvest]

Originally Posted by tgagneguam

A quite uninspired approach to helping industry.

The Federal Government gave Prius buyers large tax deductions, so what is wrong with giving Volt buyers large tax deductions? Basically the Federal Government subsidized the success of the Prius, but in your opinion the Volt does not deserve the same treatment? The Volt should have larger deductions since it is being built by an American company and has the potential to cut gasoline usage to a greater extent than the Prius.

The Federal Government has helped many other industries over the years which have helped our economy. For example, the Federal Government picked up much of the tab for developing the Boeing 707 because of the military versions of this plane. What is wrong with the Federal Government helping the Big Three especially since they have placed many mandates on the Big Three? The Federal, state, and local governments have helped the Japanese companies more than the American companies in recent years. This makes no sense. The Japanese Government certainly has not helped the Big Three.

[TruckMan]

Originally Posted by tgagneguam

And I'll start a more compassionate petition that will make more substantive change for the auto industry: balancing the budget and showing fiscal restraint so that when GM profits from its endeavors it gets to keep more of those profits; balancing the budget so that the dollar is more appropriately valued and in turn reduces the price of oil; ridding this country of useless, wasteful, misguided, excessive legislation that burdens business by discouraging investment; tort reform so that companies require appropriately-sized legal departments to conduct business legally and rationally; the encouragement through competitive grants to make science appealing to students in secondary school and post-secondary school so that American industry finally(!) has access to well-trained, qualified candidates for positions throughout their company so that they (and college universities) don't have to waste time and money retraining their workers/students in the basics. That is a much, much more appealing beginning to helping industry in this country than anything proposed thus far!




A quite uninspired approach to helping industry.



Thank you.



And who pays for that healthcare? Who pays for those tax breaks? I love that people think there's a magic tax revenue tree that pays for all these programs. What pays for them are the elimination of Bush's tax cuts, it's raising the capital gains tax (that will discourage investment in industry), it's raising taxes on families that earn(!) more tha $250,000 per annum. In essence, it means increasing the tax burden on those most capable of supporting inductry. So, how does making GM pay more in taxes help them? How does having consumers pay more in taxes help them support American industry? Make no mistake about it: when you work, it's your money, not the Federal government's. When they take $100 out of your(!) paycheck and give you $5 back in a tax break, it's not a good thing, especially when they should have only taken out $50 to begin with!



It's the government's job to provide a free, fair society. That, in large measure, is why we have so many successful companies that are the envy of the world. It's why our post-secondary institutions attract students from around the world. It's why people come to this country by the millions. Having a free, fair society absolutely involves the risk of failure. And welfare, fostering a sense of dependency on a system is no way to succeed. To insinuate that Toyota and Honda are successful simply because Japan supports their industries is pure twaddle. There are Japanese companies in other industries that, try as they might, cannot hold a candle to American enterprises. And that results from American enterprises' ingenuity, not as a result of America helping out those industries.

If you believe in GM, then put your money where your mouth is. Buy their stock. They will in turn invest in their industry, and you will reap the reward when they profit from their endeavors. But don't tell every tax payer to pay more in taxes to help an industry that unfortunately has mismanaged itself for decades because it's the compassionate, patriotic thing to do. That's pure bull****, plain and simple. Giving an alcoholic more alcohol is not compassion. Giving a homeless drug addict money "to buy some food" is not compassion. And giving American industry cash in the form of tax breaks is not compassion for the American auto industry.

Once again tgagneguam, I agree with you 100%.

I'm sorry that GM is in this situation, but it's not the public's fault or responsibility. Businesses flounder and go under every day, and GM is no better than any of them. If GM can survive this crisis, it will make them a better/stronger company in the long run. They need to learn from their mistakes. If the government continues to bail companies and people out from their own irresponsible mistakes, companies/people will never learn or be motivated to act responsibly. In essence, bailing them out is only encouraging them to screw up again, because they'll know we'd bail them out again. Where would the motivation be to not screw up?

The tax cuts for the Prius were unfair, but two wrongs don't make a right.

[PURPLEIMPALA]

The author should ask th OWNERS of the Aveo if they are unhappy with the fuel mileage. I am not. If my Aveo had a smaller engine, it would probably be underpowered. I think the 1.6 that it has is fine. When the car was being planned, I'm sure that they discussed this exact topic. I know that the Honda Fit, Toyota Yuris, and others get better mileage, but are they slow and underpowered ? You don't hear Aveo owners complaining, do you ? I don't. Just my opinion, as a 3 year Aveo owner, happy with my car. The Aveo is NOT a problem for GM. The Aveo is a bright spot in GM's lineup. Look at the sales numbers.