GeddyLee 
I don't who all has been following the Big 3 during their time on the Congressional Hill these past few weeks, but I just wanted to take a moment and rant about it. I am sure some of you will chime in with your thoughts and ideas on the topic.
I work for Thomson Reuters, we provide Stock and Analytical data to our customers around the world, we I watch a lot of stock and economy related TV at work. This past week and a little bit last week I got to see the Congressional Hearings involving the Big 3 Automakers pleeding their case before the Committe for $25 BILLION dollars.
And I came away with the following feelings.
1. The Big 3 CEOs have no freaking clue what they are talking about. Watching them try to pleed their case before the committe was like watching a train wreck waiting to happen. Richard Wagoner Jr from GM I think was the worst offender of all. The man could not give one straight answer to save his life. He stumbled around more than a drunk on nickle beer night! I could not belive such a man could run a company like GM.
When the Congressmen pressed him for straight answers, he could not provide any. And if you watched his body movement and eye contact, it was deplorable. He could not even lie keeping eye contact with them. And then when he would stumble, which he did frequently, he would look at that others at the table hoping someone would throw him a lifeline or something. He came to this meeting totally unprepared to ask for the money the industry so desperately needs! And that is truly an American shame!
2. Another spot I found quite amusing was when one of the Congressmen asked the Big 3 how they got to the meeting. They all basically stated they flew on private company jets. They claim that due to security concerns they have to do this. I find that extremely hard to believe, but I will give them some leway on that one. The next question the same Congressman asked was if they would sell their private jets and take a Commerical Airline home. I watched all three and especially Wagoner chuckle quitely and NONE raised their hands indicating they would do such a thing.
To me this would have a prime time to gain some really big points with Congress and the American people. BUT NO! These pin stripped douches virtually laughed in Congress' face when the question was proposed. This to me shows just how greedy these CEO's are. And it shows just how much they want to pull a fast one over on the American people. And people wonder why they are failing? There is your prime example right there. Their erogance* is so over the top, they can not see what is before them. They are just worried about their pocketbook, their private jets and their pension. They don't give one hoot about the poor line worker or the person buying their product.
MY solution to this mess.......(This is MY opinion only and does not reflect that of GPF or anyone associated with GPF)
They should be forced into bankruptsy. The top execs and their boards should be disolved and rebuilt from the ground up. Look at how the Airlines handled their bankruptsy. They made it through with minimal damage. SURE there are negatives with Bankruptsy. Wagoner went on to state to Congress that supposidly 80% of Americans would not buy a car from a bankrupted Auto Company. Funny, all the Airlines that went bankrupt still kept their passangers and only saw increases as time wore on. I would love to know where he got this 80% of all Americans would not buy from a bankrupt Auto Company from.
The industry is full of dinosaurs that need to be put to pasture and fresh new blood needs to be transfused into it if they want to survive. And the only way this would happen would be through getting rid of the CEOs and the board members for the Big 3. Ford is about the only one who is ahead of the game on the problem overall as stated by several congressmen during the hearings. GM is by far the worst. With Chrysler hanging by a tread above GM.
And then the matter of the UAW comes into play. I know some of our members are in Unions of one type or another, but this is one big sore spot that needs to be addressed as well. I do not have exact figures on what the average UAW worker is paid, but I have heard ranges from $21-35 bucks an hour on the minimum. And that is a best guess. And I know from knowing some in the industry it is actually a lot more in other areas. This has to be addressed as well. If you are gonna cut the industry and start over, you have to look at the UAW. I am NOT saying the UAW should be fased out, though some would like to see that happen. But they provide an IMPORTANT part to the Auto industry as a whole.
Granted over the many years they have gotten a bad rap, and some of it rightfully so, but for the most part they provided job security and benefits where they might not have gotten any at all if it weren't for the Union. But in this economy and jobs going over seas, they have to start thinking about self preservation. They are simply pricing themselves out of the work force. Plain and simple. Resturcturing needs to be done on that level as well.
I think once all of that is done, and done correctly, we can have our Big 3 back in business and doing well again!
Thanks for taking your time and reading this.
) 
)
