Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Finance, the economy & Economics Bailing out the auto industry - yes or no?

I live in southeastern Michigan. The economic tragedy that is the economic downturn is very much alive and well here. If anyone fails to understand how bad it will get in this country, come up and have a look at real estate and help wanted adds. And boarded up stores. And streets and roads. And not just in the Detoit inner city. The house I (foolishly) bought just over a year ago is now worth less than what I owe Wells Fargo for it. And this after Wells Fargo forced me to double my down payment (I was scheduled to close two business days AFTER their stock took the first huge downturn as their role in sub-prime markets became known!). So even though not employed in the auto industry, I understand very well what the state of the auto industry does to the rest of the economy.

Having said that, any use of taxpayer money to assist the auto industry should, IMHO, be focues ONLY on retooling plants and labor skills to produce vehicles that are consistent with the objective of eliminating dependence on foreign oil and should carry three strings; no executive can be paid (total compensation package) more than the President of the local state university (Wayne State); taxpayers get repaid first; and any remaining profits will be re-invested into design and production of vehicles that do not require carbon based fuels nor any other fuel source that contributes to global warming.

Shareholders deserve no special protection; they are the ones who by act of commission or omission allowed these companies to be mismanaged for at least the past three decades.

And labor must accept that current UAW collective bargaining agreements are inconsistent with global competition for labor and must be restructured to more closely align with those in place at non-Big Three auto plants in the U.S.