Do you support the loans to the big three?

I am not a big fan of the automakers bailout. I am glad that Ford is taking things into their own hands and not accepting any money. I think the best thing to do is to renegotiate with the unions. If that doesn't work, then file a chapter 11 and reorganize the company. What they are doing is obviously not working, so why give them more money? They will just burn through it and then stick their hand out again for more. I am not against paying executives large amounts of money, because they have great skills and responsibility. However, they have to deserve the big money that they receive. If your company is failing, you don't deserve it. I think the only way they will survive is to reorganize and reevaluate their business plans. Times are changing, but they are not. That is the problem. Hopefully they will get it together, because I don't want to see thousands of Americans lose their jobs.

I worked as an executive secretary for one of the big three auto companies years ago. The offices run more efficiently than in any other offices I have worked in, and there have been numerous. When I was employed with the car company, my boss reported to the future president. I do not think a person could begin to understand the level of expertise and responsibility that is required to run a large company and how important it is to have "the best," until you view it from a closer perspective. The pressure is enormous, the responsibility is beyond comprehension, hours are long, breaks don't exist when something needs to be done. The job comes first before anything else. It takes a special person to fill the role. Someone who is not looking for an eight-hour-a-day, forty-hour-a-week job. Yes, there are perks but it is all relative to how much is given up in order to fulfill such a role. They are responsible for thousands of workers. I could be wrong but I thought that at least one head executive is only taking $1 per year until this mess is straightened out. I have seen the industry go through its ups and downs and this is definitely a down. The auto industry is woven through many states in the United States. One plant affects small businesses all over. There are banks, credit unions, mechanics, gas stations, material suppliers, schools, colleges, etc., just to name a few. When the car industry sinks, so do the businesses that are dependent on them. We have ridden on a high for a good many of years. Prices keep going up, education keeps going down, somewhere there needs to be an adjustment. I do not know if what is being done will work to keep the economy going but it bothers me to see people without jobs. What a dilemma! How did we get here. Everyone has an opinion. It would be nice if we could all pull together in some way, I just don't know how. I am not happy with all of the loans that are being made to numerous companies and the mounting debt we find ourselves in but I also do not want to see the American auto companies disappear.