May 31, 2009

And then the parasites claimed yet another victim. The unions have now officially bankrupted General Motors.

Suck the blood until there's no more blood left to suck.

Nice job UAW.

You couldn't have screwed your dues payers any worse!

(remind anyone of the NAR?)

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was the time when GM was trying to sell fewer cars in order to keep it's market share under 55%.

Afterthought said...

The effect of the stimulus is to push us up the chart to the left, not the right.

Anonymous said...

Well, the larger issue is, the effective end of the automotive industry as the economic force it was. As an example, even successful Toyota has seen drastic drops in sales, the kind of drops that signal the end of an era, and a major cultural and economic shift.

People are not buying new cars, and, the incentives put forth by the government and companies themselves only make certain that there will be no profit in this industry, at least at the current scale it is at. How long can the government support a program that essentially makes new cars "free"? Well, how long can any company exist without showing a profit? Basically, as long as the government keeps them propped up, indefinitely.

Best case scenario, a year from now lending has returned to normal, car loans are as easy to obtain as before. Will people go out and buy new cars? I think it unlikely. The prudent advice to "buy used, depreciation on a new auto will kill you", will finally, and has finally, hit home for the American consumer. Plenty of used car lots, now more than ever.

As this government support goes on though(it will have to), the American consumer will ask himself, hmmm, we could have spent these public dollars on a sensible public transportation system, instead of a losing business model. I think a revamped public/private transportation system is the future, with more of these type of things http://thecontaminated.com/future-bus/ taking the place of so many private autos. And a better train system too.

There will still be an industry for private autos, just not on the scale as before, and based on a totally different business model. Private autos will come to be seen as a luxury over the next five years.

Anonymous said...

A little balance please.

What of the decisions of the exec and their huge compensation package?

What of the cost of carrying GMAC will all of the bad real estate loans? Why did GM invest in GMAC and not GM to become a more efficient company?

What happened to all of the reported profits of the Company?

Why did the US allow other companies to dump cars in our market place?

blogger said...

I do blame the execs too - for hiring sh*tty designers, for approving sh*tty designs, for not aggressively raising MPG, and for not standing up to the unions.

The best thing that could have happened to the US auto industry would have been a strike 10 years ago where the whole industry got shut down, until the unions folded, and agreed to be paid a competitive wage, with reasonable benefits.

That didn't happen, and now the industry has been destroyed.

So yes, I blame management too.

Miss Goldbug said...

The begining of the end...thats GM.

Harg said...

How sad is it that full benifits and a good wage are now "blamed" and a bad thing. Sorry but if you want to compete with the world labor market then everyone in the western world if fucked. You can not compete with countries who use sudo slave labor and that is just what you would have to do. We should have all been pushing for better benifits and pay.

Back in the day full benifits for all employees was standard and companies still made money. A pension and retirement was also standard and they still made money. So what has changed?

Mike Hunt said...

Obama should have let them go under without sinking a crapload of taxpayer money into them.

Just another one of his many bad decisions for anything related to economic policy.

-Mike

investorinpa said...

To Harg"

What has changed? The cost of building things has gone down thanks to the global economy. It is now cheaper to have a car built elsewhere and shipped here. Additionally, better car companies have come along and offered a better deal at a lower or similar price for a better car. You cannot do business the same way if the world around you is changing fast.

i've had it said...

i was actually thinking of buying my next car from gm but now that they are owned by the white house and the uaw there is no chance in hell i will. there is no way i'm going to sustain this fascist takeover of an auto company. basically, the govt. said: "it's the execs fault that the company is ruined; we're giving it to the unions now". what the democrats did is give payback to the unions for supporting their wins in congress and the white house. that's what it's all about: paying back, buying future votes, and keeping the money flow going.

but it won't work cause gm is washed up and will be liquidated in the future. so, really a short term jolt in order to keep the uaw support through the next presidential election. then, it's over.

my next car will be ford or foreign.

casey said...

castrate union execs!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Ever consider the role health costs demands by them played?

"...Harg said...How sad is it that full benefits and a good wage are now "blamed" and a bad thing..."Ain't it appalling?

They have us right where they want us: blaming each other among us who still have a decent life.

AS IF when all of that is gone, somehow we'll be better off.

Let's all be astute businessmen: I want to start every day with a contract negotiation and employ my thugs for a good beatdown on any competitors thinking of getting in the factory door.

Anonymous said...

Autoworkers and Detroit:

ENJOY THE DIE OFF!

Willie and Wilma wil be stopping by to hold you up at gunpoint and maybe Kill Your family...

DIE AMERICA YOU DESERVE TO DIE GM!

SeattleMoose said...

Parasite?

If you want to talk parasites, look at CEO/Executive pay over the last 20 years vs Union pay.

Capitalism is a complete failure as it turns out our "Capitalism" has morphed into blatant socialism.....e.g....."too big to fail" violates the very basic fundamentals of capitalism.

SeattleMoose said...

Parasite?

If you want to talk parasites, look at CEO/Executive pay over the last 20 years vs Union/worker pay.

Capitalism is a complete failure as it turns out our "Capitalism" has morphed into blatant socialism.....e.g....."too big to fail" violates the very basic fundamentals of capitalism. And this "socialism" is more of a decree by banksters like Hank Paulson who asked for no questions on how TARP would be spent...and more importantly...he asked to be free from any prosecution. And banksters like JPMorgan who with help from Paulson/FED, were able to declare any bank they wanted to buy "on the cheap" as failed (e.g. WAMU) and then swoop in and buy it at ridiculously low prices.

This country is run by a criminal elite.

In a country run by CEOs/big business for the benefit of CEOs, the things that have always been on the CEO "wish list" are:

1) Elimination of unions
2) Elimination of pensions
3) "Just enough to survive" worker pay
4) Elimination of as many employee benefits as possible
5) Centralization of power into unelected and unaccountable organizations (e.g. WTO, FED, etc.)

If a few CEOs are sacrificed along the way to achieving the above for the "greater CEO good", then so be it.

End game = 5% of people own 95% of all wealth, everyone else relegated to "worker" status with no benefits, long hours, and cradle to grave corporate enslavement.

Lost Cause said...

I don't know how you can blame the workers and thier unions. They are going to be the last ones to "Buy American." Wages have not gone up for the last 30 years.

Wind Farmer said...

WOW...I was born in 1958...thank's for the 1958 advertisement, but now I'm starting to feel old. Anyway, I'm gonna rush out and photograph my 7 year old in front of Hummers, GM and Chrysler cars so he'll have a little momento of what was. Nothing dates a photograph like the cars in the background.

patrat said...

The '57 was better. Remember the one that hydro-planed because the fins were so big and spread out? That might have been a
Mercury, actually.

Anonymous said...

Harg said...
How sad is it that full benifits and a good wage are now "blamed" and a bad thing. Sorry but if you want to compete with the world labor market then everyone in the western world if fucked. You can not compete with countries who use sudo slave labor and that is just what you would have to do. We should have all been pushing for better benifits and pay.

Back in the day full benifits for all employees was standard and companies still made money. A pension and retirement was also standard and they still made money. So what has changed?

May 31, 2009 4:02 PM

--------------------------------------------

Everything and nothing!

RayNLA

Anonymous said...

Tomorrow morning the United States of America will have effectively sold it's soul to China.

Turbo Tim is there now signing the recipt.

RayNLA

gutless and lazy said...

Yawn. Union bashing. So GOP 20th century. Never once can I recall Keith holding fat, dumb and lazy (but mostly greedy) management responsible.

Don't like unions? Then give up the 5 day work week and repeal child labor laws.

Union bashing is getting very boring.

patrat said...

"Tomorrow morning the United States of America will have effectively sold it's soul to China."

Yep, ... well our firstborn anyway. Maybe we can spin straw into gold.

Where did those old fairy tales come from anyway?
Was it something like this?

patrat said...

"Don't like unions? Then give up the 5 day work week and repeal child labor laws."

It hath been foretold.

patrat said...

If you want a really good car song, this is one:

It's Robbie Dupree - Hot Rod Hearts.

Umm, kind of seems like ancient history now.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-iDhWKduqU

patrat said...

The Beach Boys also sang about cars all the time.

Also Prince "Little Red Corvette" is another great car song.

Not so easy to access on You Tube though.

Here come the collectibles. Oh Are we old or what?

randall666flagg said...

I hate UAW. They are the lazy ass blood leeching S.O.B. And they are also American !

patrat said...

Jan and Dean were a couple of other California car worship singers.

"Little ol lady from Pasadena"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGdLDOXyWsg

patrat said...

I am sorry to monopolize this blog, but now that i really think about it, man, the car is like our "life".
Jack Kerouac, On the Road.
How surreal in these days.

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