"Gosh-all hemlock, what's the world coming to?" Today the government is mulling over giving the auto industry a bail out. The Big 3 automakers, after years of peddling gas-guzzlers have found themselves on the brink of bankruptcy.
Turns out that Americans don't want gas guzzlers anymore. It appears we want to kick our oil addiction, finally. And now the the GM wants a bailout because they're worried about going out of business and taking 3 million jobs with them?
I see the need to bail out GM, but there needs to be oversight. I'm afraid of the impact its going to have on the economy. The question is; do we let GM take a dump, with its 3 million jobs, or do we save it?
If we do save it, how do we convert it from a company selling a worthless or marginal products (SUVs), to a company that produces the type of car (Hybrids) they should have been producing years ago?
The love affair between the oil lobby and the auto industry also cannot be overlooked. Instead of producing a more efficient vehicle, the auto industry has been in bed with oil lobby. That's why it took so long to get a 26 mpg hybrid- who the hell needs that, when Pruis and Camry get 45-50 mpg?
Did anyone see the hybrids get marketed like the gas guzzlers? Why ruin a good thing? They had already brainwashed the majority of Americans, again, into thinking that these gas guzzlers are great! As long as the oil lobby kept greasing the pockets in Washington everything was hunky dory.
How do we define what they have done? Greed? Irresponsible capitalism? Is ignoring or thwarting a better technology because it pays more to continue the existing outdated technology a crime when it affects society as we have been affected?
Update: Is it now the time to rid Washington interest groups for good?
Nogui Aramburo
Real Estate Broker / Licensed Assistant
Linda Craft & Team, REALTORS
www.lindacraft.com
(919) 771 3609
The answers to your questions will probably be talked about for years to come. We all feel the same way, the bailout has to have oversight. Unfortunately Paulson seems to think that what is is doing is none of our business. Michael Bloomberg is suing the government because Paulson refuses to release the names of the companies looting our treasury. This isn't a helping hand he is offering. He is looting our treasury pure and simple.
I've heard they've already spent some 2 Trillion dollars with no oversight whatsoever.
No sympathy here for the BIG Three leadership that led the to this place and time in its history. But the fact is that GM still sells 22% of its "unwanted gas-guzzlers" to Americans. In a market crowded with brands that's a healthy chunk of the market. Problem with the auto industry is, just like the housing industry, there simply aren't enough buyers in the market right now.
They were actually positioned to make a surge had the mortgage, CDS, and housing crisis not steered the country in the tank. Don't think the foreign auto companies aren't feeling the same pinch as the Big Three. They too have governments helping them limp over the hard times.
Our industry had a large part in the troubles the country is feeling, many industries are getting caught up in this Tsunami we all had a part in bringing on. It may be a good thing for us that we agents and home builders don't have to compete with overseas brands.