The World According To Bob

Bob Allen is a philosopher and cyber libertarian. He advocates for the basic human rights of men. Bob has learned to cut through the political nonsense, the propaganda hate, the surface discourse, and talk about the underlying metamessage that the front is hiding. Bob tells it like it is and lets the chips fall where they may. If you like what you read be sure to bookmark this blog and share it with your friends.

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Location: United States

You can't make wrong into right by doing wrong more effectively. It's time for real MEN to stand up and take back our families, our society, and our self respect. It is not a crime to be born a man. It is not a crime to act manly.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Save the Auto Industry -- File Chapter 11!

General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler should file Chapter 11. The total worth of GM stock is now only about 2 billion, and they are more than 30 billion in debt. The government, or anyone else, could buy the company for 2 billion, yet GM is asking the government to hand them 20 billion more of our dollars to pour down their rat hole.

What this is really all about is Democratic payback for union contributions. The United Auto Workers and other unions have bought and paid for Democratic Senators. They expect to cash in with big payments of our money.

GM, Ford, and Chrysler cannot survive and continue to do business as they have done business for the past 50 years. They cannot compete with Toyota, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen or other well managed US car factories. Well managed auto companies are not going bankrupt in the US. Even this week Korean run Kia announced that they are going ahead with their construction of their new US factory. Times are good for companies that manage well. Times are only bad for companies that have stupid, corrupt, bloated, and greedy management. The Detroit 3 have for years capitulated to UAW demands which everyone has known would eventually bankrupt the companies. Eventually comes when business declines a little.

It is just a decline despite the doom and gloom from the leftist fascist media. Auto sales in the last part of 2008 are down only about 30%. In a few months they will recover as more of our cars wear out and people need transportation. The problem the Detroit 3 are having is that they can’t survive selling reasonably priced cars for $20,000 or less. They have $10,000 per car bills from past UWA union agreements. They promised lifetime benefits to millions of retired workers. Ford recently studied the introduction of a new line of economical cars, but dropped the project because they can only meet expenses by selling huge overpriced behemoths that have $10,000 of slush money built into the inflated prices.

The Detroit 3 pay assembly line workers the highest wages in the US, so high that no other working man can afford their products. Corrupt management of the Detroit 3 promised to pay workers after layoffs whether they work or not. When sales decline by 30% they cannot cut bloated costs by reducing their work force because their UAW contract makes the companies pay the workers whether they work or not. Non-union factories of other companies in Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, and other US states that are operated by Mitsubishi, Toyota and others do not have the same stupid mangers and employees. The other US factories have tied their overall prices to the actual cost of manufacture, so when sales decline, their costs decline in step. The other US car factories are not asking for bailouts because they do not have such corrupt management and unions.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is a very wealthy man who’s money came out of the corrupt management of General Motors. He opined last week that the only way to save the Detroit 3 is to allow them to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code was written and adopted by Congress specifically this kind of situation. What GM so badly needs is a complete reorganization if it is going to survive. Under Chapter 11 their union contracts would evaporate and be replaced by new work rules that make the companies viable in the 21st century. If the Detroit 3 are to survive they must declare Chapter 11 and do so soon. Tossing tax money down the same rat hole without the complete restructuring of Chapter 11 bankruptcy law will not save them.

The corrupt Democrats in Congress are trying hard to payback the UAW and other unions with our tax money. Democrats in Congress are owned by the unions and similar big money interests. More honest Congressmen are resisting the payoff. We taxpayers don’t want our money tossed down a corrupt rat hole to feed the dying rats a few months longer. We need to save the American auto industry by allowing them to reorganize and get new management under Chapter 11.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let them fail.

Bob, I'm surprised you didn't mention the biggest reason they want to save the automotive industry. Those are the companies who make the overwhelming majority of America's military equipment. Without a solid, American owned, auto industry, the United States government can't fight a war. And since their next planned war is against US, I'm inclined to hope they lose.

December 05, 2008 1:54 PM  
Blogger Bob said...

Note to anonymous:
Reorganization under US Bankruptcy law, Chapter 11, does not make the companies go away. It gives them new organization and freedom from the burdens of past mistakes. It would save the Detroit 3. Dumping cash down the same rat hole will not save them.

December 05, 2008 2:46 PM  

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