Who killed General Motors?
12-13-2005, 02:57 PM
#31
Chapter President
I hope your congressman and senator are more responsive then mine.
I tried the emails about my complaints and the only answer I got back was a form letter email from SS thanking me for my interest.
After the holidays, I plan to print out some of the charts and graphs and try for a face-to-face confrontation.
I tried the emails about my complaints and the only answer I got back was a form letter email from SS thanking me for my interest.After the holidays, I plan to print out some of the charts and graphs and try for a face-to-face confrontation.
12-13-2005, 05:32 PM
#32
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Originally Posted by crobtex
After the holidays, I plan to print out some of the charts and graphs and try for a face-to-face confrontation.
Face to face MEETING, not confrontation.
Confrontation gets the Capitol Hill cops called, and you toted off before you make (y)our point. 
12-13-2005, 05:36 PM
#33
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Originally Posted by IA_James
Face to face MEETING, not confrontation. Confrontation gets the Capitol Hill cops called, and you toted off before you make (y)our point.
Confrontation gets the Capitol Hill cops called, and you toted off before you make (y)our point. It may be a confrontation. Isn't that how all the radicals get in the news so they can have their say?
12-13-2005, 07:39 PM
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Originally Posted by crobtex
It may be a confrontation. Isn't that how all the radicals get in the news so they can have their say?
12-13-2005, 08:41 PM
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Originally Posted by grantx5
Where's the problem? Look in your garage (or in mine). That's not an American made car. What brand of TV do you watch? Who made your camera, your PC, your cell phone, etc.?
It ain't going to change until we decide to change it. Washington is not listening nor are the auto makers. It's going to take a grass roots effort to take our country back or our country will cease to exist.
When we stop buying everything from Walmart, Toyota, Honda, Sony, blah, blah, blah, maybe things will begin to change.
Contact your financial manager and invest in American companies only. Buy American, tout American, be proud of American, vote American.
...end of sermon.
It ain't going to change until we decide to change it. Washington is not listening nor are the auto makers. It's going to take a grass roots effort to take our country back or our country will cease to exist.
When we stop buying everything from Walmart, Toyota, Honda, Sony, blah, blah, blah, maybe things will begin to change.
Contact your financial manager and invest in American companies only. Buy American, tout American, be proud of American, vote American.
...end of sermon.
12-14-2005, 10:16 AM
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Originally Posted by swmnkdinthervr
Oddly enough your Ford/Chevy/Dodge ain't all American either and ALL the US automakers farm out stuff (some entire cars) to Mexico for assembly...never saw our cost go down any...
12-14-2005, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by IA_James
Edit: One more thing while I'm thinking about it. Has nobody made the connection between the steady decline in real earnings of the middle class and the budget and Social Security shortfall yet? I'm not an economist, and I don't play one on TV, but if your tax base is steadily shrinking, of course the take will decrease. Hence the trouble with available money, and the Social Security solvency difficulties.
12-14-2005, 11:20 AM
#38
Chapter President
Originally Posted by jfpointer
Social Security's solvency problems have more to do with it being essentially a Ponzi scheme than with real wages. The way it's set up, it can only possibly work well if each succeeding generation of workers is larger than the one before it. Fewer workers and more retirees are what's causing the problem, in other words. Add in much longer life expectancies for those retirees, and you're looking at a completely untenable situation financially speaking.
12-14-2005, 11:35 AM
#39
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Originally Posted by crobtex
That, along with all the riff-raff, low-lifes and foreigners drawing it that have paid little to nothing into it!
Edited to add: Thread hijack complete, it looks like.
12-14-2005, 01:22 PM
#40
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From US News and World Report - March 28
The article goes on to state that GM must get smaller. Unions, of course, are hoping for a gradual course, but I'll lay odds that there are going to be some plant closures and job cuts in the very near future.
With costs like this, it's small wonder they're in trouble.
The problem at the world's biggest automaker isn't necessarily it's cars. "GM has good stuff," says Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Girsky. "They just seem to overproduce everything." Since GM's 111,000 unionized workers earn 95 percent of their base pay if they get laid off, GM keeps its assembly lines running as long as it's not losing money on them. But as dealer lots swell with cars, discounts follow, brand image sags, and profits evaporate. GM also faces $5 billion this year in costs for retiree healthcare -- the biggest such burden of any global company. It's little wonder that GM's operating margin is the third lowest among 16 big automakers, according to Morgan Stanley.
With costs like this, it's small wonder they're in trouble.
12-14-2005, 03:48 PM
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I knew that the unions would somehow take the blame in this. At no time does the pensions of a dozen FORMER CEO's even get mentioned. That right there could eliminate probably $40-50 millon not to mention their stock options. Whadaya think.
Jim
Jim
12-14-2005, 10:43 PM
#42
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Well I've read all the posts here and have to say that I would agree with most all of them. I do beleive that change has to be made some were,but the guy making a million as well as the guy making 40K all say don't take mine.I sort of think that politians could make the right things happen, but alot of times,what they would have to do or say would not get them re-elected so they just stay the course. I know that there are pros and cons to this ,but do away with career polititions and alot of problems would be gone.Like or hate Jesse Ventura, he came in and did and said what he thought was good and right and did not care about re-election.As we sit here and speculate about GM'S demise I beleive there are people who know how to fix it, but there are so many road blocks in the way, from greed, to unions, to politics that it just can't happen.Just my 2 bucks
12-15-2005, 06:32 AM
#43
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Originally Posted by dezeldog
I knew that the unions would somehow take the blame in this. At no time does the pensions of a dozen FORMER CEO's even get mentioned. That right there could eliminate probably $40-50 millon not to mention their stock options. Whadaya think.
Jim
Jim
12-15-2005, 06:37 AM
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Originally Posted by jfpointer
What really chaps my hide is CEOs getting huge raises when they do a horrible job.
~Rob
12-15-2005, 09:15 AM
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corperate greed
I was working for a large american finacial institution locally and they closed the facility, outsourced the job to India, screwed over employees, while building a 13 story executive office right off the capital beltway (near dulles 
) 
Luckily I left before the worst stuff happened, but I think this illistrates the corporate greed that exists today. Looks like GM has worked themselves into a hard place and hopefully they will be innovative and not stagnate.
On the sarcastic note- I just checked my former empoyers webpage and apparently outsourcing has saved this company enough money to offer these amenities at their new location
* Cafeteria and coffee shop
* Sundries store
* Concierge services
* Health and fitness center
* Free attached parking garage
* Art gallery
* Nail salon
* On-site banking and ATMs
* On-site rental-car office
* Brushless car wash
* Nursing mothers' rooms
* Business Center
) Luckily I left before the worst stuff happened, but I think this illistrates the corporate greed that exists today. Looks like GM has worked themselves into a hard place and hopefully they will be innovative and not stagnate.On the sarcastic note- I just checked my former empoyers webpage and apparently outsourcing has saved this company enough money to offer these amenities at their new location
* Cafeteria and coffee shop
* Sundries store
* Concierge services
* Health and fitness center
* Free attached parking garage
* Art gallery
* Nail salon
* On-site banking and ATMs
* On-site rental-car office
* Brushless car wash
* Nursing mothers' rooms
* Business Center