GM postes 6.2 billion loss,should they be bailed out again ?

@ronnyb (6113)
Jamaica
February 26, 2009 7:11am CST
[b][/b]AP - General Motors Corp. posted a $9.6 billion fourth-quarter loss and said it burned through $6.2 billion of cash in the last three months of 2008 as it fought the worst U.S. auto sales climate since 1982 and sought government loans to keep the century-old company running. Now Gm is an American institution and one that I am sure many would like to see in existense forever ,I would too.I have heard an analyst say that sometimes there needs to let some of these institutions collapse so that ther ecan be a rebirth .According to this analyst this was waht happened during the great depression and that is required now.I dodnt agree with it then and i am still having trouble accepting it now ,especially when you consider how many jobs will be lost ,however GM makes a convincing argument for supporting this theory.I am wondering how mucn money it will take to bail out this company . What are your views ,should the government continue to bail them out or let them fall and rebuild ?.I dont have the answer just asking for your views
3 people like this
8 responses
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
26 Feb 09
I think the free market should be allowed to function on its own. I've worked for companies which went out of business due to mismanagement. When you have decreased revenues you must cut spending to stay afloat. Instead these companies have come to Congress with their hands out begging for money. If you or I lost our job we would have to cut spending in our lives in order to still have a home, heat, food, clothes, etc. It's the same principle.
@ronnyb (6113)
• Jamaica
26 Feb 09
I think its time we allow the free market system to work.The irony of it is that if the goverment wanted to regulate someof these company duringthe boom years these said companies would have objected and yet they want to come to the government now when they need a bailout.Right you are about people having to make necessary cuts so why shouldnt these companies,granted it is so sad about the people who will have to loose thier jobs ..I cannot sympathise enough but its just the reality
1 person likes this
@lampar (7584)
• United States
26 Feb 09
I am against government handout to failed corporations but not against temporary financial aids bailouts in the form of low interest loans or credits to all businesses under certain conditions. In the case of G.M, government should only provide conditional low interest loans if Gm can meet the government demand of restructuring in their compensation package in this recession. Much of the failure of GM is due to their own complacency and CEO policy. Unless they are ready to change, no amount of government loan is going to end their financial problem and is enough to go into their deep pockets.
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
26 Feb 09
I do feel for the people that would lose their jobs but I don't think bailing them out is the answer. With the economy as it is who is buying new cars. What are they going to do with those cars? Have them set on a lot somewhere until people can start buying them again? I truly don't believe any of the stimulus package is going to truly help the economy.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
26 Feb 09
I read that too, but couldn't figure out what the heck they spent the money on..all the while they were laying people off. The biggest problem with these bail out monies is that no one is over seeing them. The govt just puts this massive amount of money into the hands of the same people that ran up the debt in the first place and let them spend it as they pleased! I mean, come on...give me a drink and call me stupid, but for heaven sake, did this not at all cross the mind of the givers to give them the inclination that maybe it might be a good idea to assign someone (ergo creating a job!) to over see what the money pays off? which debts or which bills?
1 person likes this
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
26 Feb 09
i don't have an answer either but u know i have an opinion. lol i hate to think of the people who will lose their jobs but let the goverment give the money to them & quit supporting the fat cats up there in management. think they have cut back on anything?? i don't think so.
1 person likes this
@snowcat46 (2322)
• United States
26 Feb 09
I don't know the answer either. But I find it offensive that these big auto makers knew they were in trouble years ago. Did they change their ways? No. They kept making bigger cars, taking more gas to make them go. They ignored what the people wanted, and just kept producing junk. My personal pet peeve was Chevrolet. They made the Geo Metro. I bought one of those brand new, my only new car ever. I loved that car. It made 56 mpg, never had to go in to be worked on by mechanics, all we had to do was the regular tire/oil changes, and filling other liquids. Yet it was discontinued. You can't buy a new one now. They already had an assembly line for it, but it had to be discontinued. (It only cost me $10,000 brand new) I say no to bailing them out. They're not trying to change. They're just trying to ride the taxpayer.
• United States
26 Feb 09
Not no but HELL NO!
• United States
27 Feb 09
Haha, well said. Honestly, I really think this needs to happen. If GM doesn't provide for American citizens, then we shouldn't provide for it. And at this point, with the budget crisis and our who-knows-how-many-zillion-dollars-in-debt situation, there are honestly MANY MANY more important things to be spending money on. Like funding education so that we can actually invest in the future. It's not impossible for the people who work at GM to find other jobs. Maybe this sounds heartless and all, but honestly. I don't think I should have to pay for an incompetent company's mistakes.
• United States
27 Feb 09
Hell NO!!! Let them all go back to riding a horse. And let the executives do the cleanup detail