Go Back   tanTALK - Tanning Salon Business Owners Community > Off Topic > Say What ?????

Say What ????? This is a forum for tanning professionals to discuss topics and issues unrelated to the tanning industry.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 11-11-2008, 07:20 PM   #31 (permalink)
 
HOT STUFF's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 5 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 759
Rep Power: 21 HOT STUFF is a name known to all HOT STUFF is a name known to all HOT STUFF is a name known to all HOT STUFF is a name known to all HOT STUFF is a name known to all HOT STUFF is a name known to all
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

Good luck Solarmeter.
__________________
______________________
HOT STUFF is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2008, 09:54 AM   #32 (permalink)
I love Derf!!
 
Ezliving_Jim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 12 2002
Location: Undisclosed Secure Location
Posts: 2,636
Rep Power: 26 Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

Pelosi Offers Help to Big Auto: 'Make Better Cars'
by Scott Ott

(2008-11-10) — With bailout talk swirling around GM and Ford, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today offered some much-needed help to the U.S. auto industry during a news conference on Capitol Hill.

“Here’s my proposal to rescue U.S. automakers,” said Rep. Pelosi. “Memo to Detroit: Make better cars.”

The California Democrat said problems at Ford and GM weren’t caused by the recent financial meltdown, rather they represent “a long-term chronic condition aggravated by a combination of low value-to-price ratios, high labor costs driven by big unions and oppressive government regulation, and the failure of executives to offer a compelling vision to employees and customers alike.”

“In other words,” she said, “you’re making too many expensive cars that no one wants. You’d almost think there was a conspiracy of mediocrity…like someone in the ivory tower said, ‘Let’s strive, in every market segment, to produce the third-best vehicle.’ You executives seem more interested in the size of your offices and of your golden parachutes than you are in the couple who will walk into a dealership in Des Moines today, trying to find a vehicle that meets their needs, fits their budget, and gives them a little thrill because it’s designed well.”

The Pelosi rescue plan is not limited to company executives, it also includes help for struggling autoworkers.

“You autoworkers think your big union bosses have your best interests at heart,” she said, “and so you march in lockstep to the polls where you vote for union-backed political candidates whose campaigns you funded through your union dues. Those politicians, many of them lawyers, then go to Washington and listen to the siren song of union lobbyists to increase the regulatory burden on U.S. automakers, driving up the cost of production so it’s tougher for your company to compete with foreign car makers.”

“Meanwhile, back in Detroit,” Rep. Pelosi said, “your union negotiators threaten your own companies with economic disaster to get contracts that ignore market forces, and treat the average worker like an ignorant baby who needs lifelong coddling, rather than as a resourceful man or woman who just wants an opportunity to earn what his skill, creativity and hard work deserve. The next time your shop steward brags that the union really stuck it to management to get this new contract, you should punch him in the nose. Then remind him that labor and management both draw their paychecks from the same source.”

Rep. Pelosi said the automakers and their unions “need to stop acting like little socialist countries, and start behaving like businesses again. It’s time to unleash the desire to be part of something great which lies hidden in the hearts of most American workers.”
Ezliving_Jim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2008, 09:58 AM   #33 (permalink)
I vote for DERF!
 
unity's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 6 2004
Location: Midwest-ish
Posts: 4,400
Rep Power: 22 unity is just really nice unity is just really nice unity is just really nice unity is just really nice unity is just really nice
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

Well she is right about all that.
__________________
OMG! I made a post! :)
unity is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2008, 10:46 AM   #34 (permalink)
I love Derf!!
 
megatanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 17 2007
Location: Ohio
Age: 48
Posts: 1,360
Rep Power: 17 megatanman is a jewel in the rough megatanman is a jewel in the rough megatanman is a jewel in the rough
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ezliving_Jim View Post
Pelosi Offers Help to Big Auto: 'Make Better Cars'
by Scott Ott

(2008-11-10) — With bailout talk swirling around GM and Ford, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today offered some much-needed help to the U.S. auto industry during a news conference on Capitol Hill.

“Here’s my proposal to rescue U.S. automakers,” said Rep. Pelosi. “Memo to Detroit: Make better cars.”

The California Democrat said problems at Ford and GM weren’t caused by the recent financial meltdown, rather they represent “a long-term chronic condition aggravated by a combination of low value-to-price ratios, high labor costs driven by big unions and oppressive government regulation, and the failure of executives to offer a compelling vision to employees and customers alike.”

“In other words,” she said, “you’re making too many expensive cars that no one wants. You’d almost think there was a conspiracy of mediocrity…like someone in the ivory tower said, ‘Let’s strive, in every market segment, to produce the third-best vehicle.’ You executives seem more interested in the size of your offices and of your golden parachutes than you are in the couple who will walk into a dealership in Des Moines today, trying to find a vehicle that meets their needs, fits their budget, and gives them a little thrill because it’s designed well.”

The Pelosi rescue plan is not limited to company executives, it also includes help for struggling autoworkers.

“You autoworkers think your big union bosses have your best interests at heart,” she said, “and so you march in lockstep to the polls where you vote for union-backed political candidates whose campaigns you funded through your union dues. Those politicians, many of them lawyers, then go to Washington and listen to the siren song of union lobbyists to increase the regulatory burden on U.S. automakers, driving up the cost of production so it’s tougher for your company to compete with foreign car makers.”

“Meanwhile, back in Detroit,” Rep. Pelosi said, “your union negotiators threaten your own companies with economic disaster to get contracts that ignore market forces, and treat the average worker like an ignorant baby who needs lifelong coddling, rather than as a resourceful man or woman who just wants an opportunity to earn what his skill, creativity and hard work deserve. The next time your shop steward brags that the union really stuck it to management to get this new contract, you should punch him in the nose. Then remind him that labor and management both draw their paychecks from the same source.”

Rep. Pelosi said the automakers and their unions “need to stop acting like little socialist countries, and start behaving like businesses again. It’s time to unleash the desire to be part of something great which lies hidden in the hearts of most American workers.”
I don't quite understand,you relentlessly bash Pelosi and Reid and now you praise her for the comments?What wrong with this picture?
megatanman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2008, 12:14 AM   #35 (permalink)
I love Derf!!
 
Ezliving_Jim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 12 2002
Location: Undisclosed Secure Location
Posts: 2,636
Rep Power: 26 Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

Quote:
Originally Posted by megatanman View Post
I don't quite understand,you relentlessly bash Pelosi and Reid and now you praise her for the comments?What wrong with this picture?
Ummm.... that was satire. Tell me you knew it was satire.

You had to know.

The kool-aide has poisoned your mind. You need to de-tox.
Ezliving_Jim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2008, 07:36 AM   #36 (permalink)
Team TanTalk
 
Join Date: Nov 23 2004
Location: ITA Member & Berman Supporter!
Posts: 3,136
Rep Power: 25 sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute sunsally has a reputation beyond repute
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

Quote:
Originally Posted by solarmeter View Post
EZ_Jim, Kookyguy, and Egg,

Thanks for the good wishes. They postponed the surgery now till Thurs am... because when I arrived this morning I demanded Dr House. But they couldn't find him. Told 'em House would cut my big GM healthcare bill in half. But they don't care.

Guess lots of Vit D couldn't stop a harmless childhood heart murmur from finally toasting the aortic valve. But I'm taking some D3 pills now that the sun is worthless.

Best wishes on your surgery today Steve.

And have your wife buy you a tanning package for Christmas this year!! I grew up in MI - no good UV in that state in the winter!

Ann
sunsally is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2008, 12:19 PM   #37 (permalink)
I love Derf!!
 
megatanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 17 2007
Location: Ohio
Age: 48
Posts: 1,360
Rep Power: 17 megatanman is a jewel in the rough megatanman is a jewel in the rough megatanman is a jewel in the rough
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ezliving_Jim View Post
Ummm.... that was satire. Tell me you knew it was satire.

You had to know.

The kool-aide has poisoned your mind. You need to de-tox.
I posted a pic of your favorite president didn't I.Whos' the one not paying attention??
megatanman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2008, 01:39 PM   #38 (permalink)
I love Derf!!
 
Ezliving_Jim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 12 2002
Location: Undisclosed Secure Location
Posts: 2,636
Rep Power: 26 Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

Democrats’ Auto Industry Bailout Is A UAW Bailout, Group Says
Thursday, November 13, 2008

By Susan Jones, Senior Editor




Chevrolet salesman Philip Jordan assists customers in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called autos a "critical industry" but said a $700 billion financial rescue program wasn't designed for them. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)

(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) reportedly plans to unveil a $25-billion auto industry bailout plan next week, on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is writing a bill that would allow the auto industry to get some of the $700 billion intended to restore liquidity in the nation’s financial markets.

But a union watchdog group says Frank’s plan really is intended to bail out the United Auto Workers union.

Frank's legislation would allow the U.S. government to take an equity stake in the auto companies in exchange for the taxpayer loans, the Associated Press quoted Frank's spokesman, Steven Adamske, as saying.

"A collapse of the American automobile industry would be the worst possible thing that could happen at a time when we are already weakened," Frank told reporters on Wednesday.

"We're not asking the taxpayers to throw good money after bad," Frank said. There will be "protections about getting it repaid," he said. "The consequences of not doing it will be worse." Frank did not divulge details of the bill.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are lobbying Congress to approve the bailout, the Associated Press reported. The auto industry has been hard-hit by the recession and the credit crunch.

GM, the nation's largest automaker, has warned it could run out of cash by the end of the year without taxpayer help.

‘UAW bailout’

It is a mistake to use part of the $700-billion rescue package to reward high-tax, non-right-to-work states such as Michigan, says Peter Flaherty, President of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC).

“The automaker bailout is actually a UAW bailout,” Flaherty said. “The union will not allow companies to deploy capital in ways that the market would dictate, such as closing plants and layoffs.”

Under Frank’s legislation, car companies receiving bailout money would face tougher restrictions on executive pay and dividends to their shareholders, the A.P. reported.

NLPC says the UAW wants additional taxpayer money to enrich health and retirement plans it controls. Indeed, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has urged Congress to act immediately to provide a separate, additional $25 billion in loans so auto companies can meet their health care obligations to more than 780,000 retirees and dependents.

Obama’s dilemma

President-elect Obama faces a dilemma, Flaherty said. “If he provides a short-term fix now on the UAW's terms, these companies are doomed. Later, he will face requests for even more taxpayer money.”

NLPC said the automakers’ biggest problem is union contracts. Stock prices drop when shares are overvalued, but union contracts stay the same, the group noted.

To subsidize these contracts is unfair to other automakers – even foreign automakers -- operating in the United States. “It was foreign companies that brought hybrids to market,” Flaherty noted.

“If the purpose (of the requested bailout) is to save jobs, then automakers are nothing more than jobs programs. There are more efficient ways to create jobs, like cutting taxes,” Flaherty concluded.

Bankruptcy vs. bailout

The New York Times on Thursday reported that bankruptcy might be preferable to a government bailout of the auto industry.

“Some experts note that while bankruptcy would be painful, it may be preferable to a government bailout that may only delay, at considerable cost, the wrenching but necessary steps G.M. needs to take to become a stronger, leaner company,” the newspaper report said.

“Although G.M.’s labor contracts would be at risk of termination in a bankruptcy, setting up a potential confrontation with its unions, the company says its pension obligations are largely financed for its 479,000 retirees and their spouses,” the newspaper reported.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Wednesday said the automobile sector is "critical" but he also said the $700-billion bailout package was not designed for car companies. "Any solution has got to be leading to long-term viability" of the auto companies, Paulson said.

According to the Associated Press, Republicans in the Senate could play a key role in whether the auto rescue plan advances.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, which is home to two Ford Motor Co. plants, reportedly has been noncommittal about additional aid. In a statement, his spokesman said Congress should move to speed the release of a $25 billion loan program passed earlier to help the carmakers develop fuel-efficient vehicles.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are hoping for quick passage of the auto bailout legislation during a post-election session that is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Executives with the Detroit automakers and the head of the United Auto Workers are expected to make their case at a hearing next Wednesday before Frank's committee. A House vote on Frank's measure could come as early as next Thursday, the A.P. reported.
Ezliving_Jim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2008, 01:43 PM   #39 (permalink)
I love Derf!!
 
Ezliving_Jim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 12 2002
Location: Undisclosed Secure Location
Posts: 2,636
Rep Power: 26 Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future Ezliving_Jim has a brilliant future
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

No On Taxpayer Bailout of Auto Industry, Say Free Market Economists
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
By Matt Hadro



(Associated Press Photo)
(CNSNews.com) - It would be better to let struggling U.S. auto firms file for bankruptcy and restructure their companies than subsidize them with a taxpayer-funded bailout, said free market economists and financial experts. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majroity Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have expressed support for a bailout.

Last weekend, Pelosi and Reid sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson, calling for him to provide temporary support to the automobile industry.

“A healthy automobile manufacturing sector is essential to the restoration of financial market stability, the overall health of our economy, and the livelihood of the automobile sector’s workforce,” Pelosi and Reid wrote.



On Nov. 6, the Democratic congressional leaders met with the president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the CEOs of Chrysler, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors to discuss the state of the auto industry and what could be done by the government.

CNSNews.com talked with economists and experts in the financial markets about the proposal.

“I think it’s a horrible idea,” said Bert Ely of Ely & Company, Inc., a financial and monetary policy consulting firm. “It’s not clear to me why it’s in the public interest to salvage those companies in that matter, other than the fact that this is obviously something that is a payoff to the labor unions and specifically to the UAW [United Auto Workers].”

“Quite frankly,” Ely said, “I think that all three of them ought to go into Chapter 11.”

Both Dan Ikenson, associate director of the Center for Trade Study Policies at the libertarian Cato Institute, and Alex Tabarrok, associate professor of economics at George Mason University, disapproved of the bailout.

“It definitely should not happen,” Ikenson told CNSNews.com. “It’s a farce to say that the U.S. auto industry is facing an existential threat.”

The UAW, however, thinks the government should provide aid.

“There is an urgent need for federal assistance,” a Nov. 6 UAW press release stated, “not just for our members, but for millions of workers and retirees and for thousands of companies who depend on the auto industry for jobs, retirement benefits, and revenue.”

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger called on Congress to immediately provide $25 billion in loans for auto companies to fulfill their obligations to provide health coverage for mreo than 780,000 “retirees and dependents,” the press release said.

“Strategic assistance to a critical manufacturing industry makes sense for U.S. taxpayers,” stated Gettelfinger. “The alternative is lost jobs, business failures, and a shortfall in pension and health care obligations – all of which will cost far more in the future than the assistance we are requesting now.”

But “they’re in the positions that they are in because of bad decisions that they have made,” said Ikenson. “As a result, they now have a very uncompetitive cost structure.”

“Nowhere is it written in stone that these companies must exist,” he said.

Prof. Tabarrok said it is foolhardy for the federal government to pick which industries get subsidies and which do not. The auto industry is not a key industry, he said.

Many firms have pension and health care obligations, said Tabarrok, including the federal government with Social Security.

Matthew Shapiro, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, did not say whether he supports a bailout of the auto industry.

“The auto industry is in extremely bad shape,” he told CNSNews.com, “because of the twin shocks of having oil prices shoot up, and then having the credit crisis, which basically means that it’s very hard for individuals to buy cars on credit.”

“They need to be part of a comprehensive solution , and I think it’s important that Congress, the current administration, and President-elect Obama all work together to do things for autos and other industries that will get them on a good footing going forward,” said Shapiro.

“I would hope that the Congress would work with the incoming administration to craft a package that fits its longer-term plans,” he said. “Longer-term includes both the next coming months where the auto industries face a very serious cash flow squeeze, but we also want to design a package that gets them on a sustainable path.”
Ezliving_Jim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2008, 02:03 PM   #40 (permalink)
 
engfant's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 20 2003
Posts: 9,301
Rep Power: 29 engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute engfant has a reputation beyond repute
Re: $50 Billion GM Bailout

Bail-out small business!
engfant is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
So... bailout bill passed... unity Say What ????? 12 10-06-2008 09:06 PM
a Billion people need to get outside??? for some Vitamin D?? Go to a TANNING SALON!!! eileen The Benefits of UV Light 9 05-05-2008 03:52 PM
Tantoday Breaks 178 BILLION Forum Pageviews! solid Say What ????? 12 06-21-2002 03:34 PM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:16 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
LinkBacks Enabled by vBSEO 3.1.0
Copyright 2009 - tanTALK.com

click here for advertising info!