I’m not a finance guy. I design electronic circuits. But, when somebody comes out and says, “um, we need $700 billion or there’s going to be, er, trouble” and is not laughed off the stage and even more is actually GIVEN the money… Well, that just seems like something you ought to do some research on and figure out what is going on. That kind of big money just does not move around without some huge currents that will drag us little fish around helplessly in its wake.

So, I spent the last week reading about as many things finance and economy related as possible.

I’ll just say we may all be in serious trouble. Whether or not Statik was right to go nomadic you’ll have to be your own judge. WIth two little kids and Prop 13, I can’t afford to take that risk, so I’m hunkered down in my suburban “compound” with my solar system, battery backup, fruits and vegetable gardens in the yard and so forth. I’ve not bought a shotgun yet, but I wouldn’t rule it out.

I’ll give you some stuff to use “the google” for: Banks won’t lend to each other (see LIBOR). Banks won’t lend to facilitate global shipping (see Letters of Credit). Banks are cutting loans to consumers (see the news for just about everything. Huge quantites of money are fleeing markets. There’s a silent run on the banks going on and nobody is telling you point blank about it (See “breaking the buck” and TED Spread). Recently, 3 month treasury bills backed by the full faith and credit of the US government were selling for 99 cents on the dollar. Think about that for a minute. The big money is willing to take a guaranteed loss just to guarantee the loss will be minimal. That is a bad omen.

Bonus items (probably will hit us after the (if we’re lucky) recession and financial markets sort out):
Our #3 supplier of Oil (Mexico) is unable to meet it’s shipment obligations to us this year (see Peak Oil and Export Land Model).

There’s a lot more, if you are so inclined to keep digging. Statik’s plan to get out of the way when the big money moves is a pretty reasonable plan. When you’re a mouse sized investor sitting alongside elephants, you have to know when to move aside and when to come back. I’m just a mouse, not even an investor mouse and I didn’t move entirely fast enough and got partially smooshed by the elephants, but not bad enough to knock me out.

I’ve got my eye on them, now.

Wrong, As GM goes, some other NEW company will pick up the slack and build cars and trucks, hopefully they will do a better job at it. Just another company going BK, big deal in the short term, better deal in the long term…but GM ain’t to big to fail.

Douglas:
I agree with some of what you say, I hope GM does make it (for the employees sake) and congrats on becoming an engineer…we need more of you, BUT…less is more. This is not a place to write a book. Rule of thumb, if a person has to scroll to read your entire post, you have written toooooo dam much.

I have been keeping track of GM and the other Automakers for a long time as well. I am an aspiring engineer. I will graduate in May 2009. And well frankly I have to say the job market for engineers is as strong as ever. I have not seen a company, including GM, that is NOT hiring engineers. Which brings me to a point made by a financial analyst on the public broadcasting channel last night (or early this morning if you want to get technical). He said (in so many words)

the fundamental values of our economy lay in the wrong sector (banking, mortgage, real estate and other SERVICES) and should have been focused in the sector of the sciences, particularly Engineering.

What we should be investing in is engineers, the people who actually play an integral part in creating jobs for everyone else. Without them nothing would get done anywhere around the globe. It is a global field and the language is the same everywhere in the world. Engineers speak the same language anywhere you go from the US to China to Europe. So my final point will be that although many of you don’t care whether GM survives or not, you should care because the US (and North American) Auto industry is one of the largest employer of Engineers in in the world, and being that as it is makes them one of the large players on how our economy will return to stability and productivity. The banking sector will not thrive without money, the money will not come without the proper goods for needs and wants, the proper goods will not come without the proper engineering and the engineering will not come without the proper engineers, and the Auto sector is one of the largest employers (indirectly, and directly) of the very engineers that will help grow manufacturing to stabilize the economy. Like it or not the Auto sector is needed here and without them we will lose a large part of our manufacturing sector (the foundation of ANY economy today is the ability to produce goods and sell them COMPETITIVELY). Engineers make some of the best Entrepreneurs as well.

So I suggest to take some of that bailout money and infuse it into the promotion of the enrollment and graduation of engineers and scientists, and helping companies from small to large that employ these people. Without them we are an economy with a crumbling foundation (although that is a pipe dream of mine). Oh and math and science courses for kids must be promoted at an early stage in life for them to even be able to take on engineering. (like 11 – 14 yrs old). I have found that I enjoy anything that I excel at, and math and science are two that I enjoy, and so might be true for others. (my father is a machinist and he promoted math as the tool to use for my future from the time I was in Elementary school, and he was correct as far as I am concerned). Writing is not by the way, as you can see by the improper use of grammar in this message.

I will leave you with some numbers from a professor of mine and let you make of them as you will. Thanks for reading.

Number of Graduates of engineers per region: (in 2003)
China 300,000
India 200,000
Japan 104,478
Russia 82,409
USA 59,536
S. Korea 56,508
Taiwan 26,587
Germany 23,196
Brazil 18,072
Source: NRC Science and Engineering Indicators 2004

Although I found this on my own:

“The numbers of S&E [Science and Engineering] bachelor’s and master’s degrees awarded reached new peaks of 466,000 and 120,000, respectively, in 2005.”

Source: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/c2/c2h.htm

An Engineers Job is to -

Superior product = Take Original Product – $$$$$ – time – resources + TONS of RESEARCH & analysis + impossible deadlines

If you are an engineer you can appreciate that equation

Here’s to hoping all engineering companies can survive, including GM
Douglas

I drive a Chevy Astro AWD – It’s a good car.
I bought it cuz it’s not Toyota or Honda or etc.
I bought some GM yesterday.
I’m hopeful some form of GM will survive and prosper with the Volt type cars and Coskata ethanol production from waste containing carbon.
We are on the verge of a sea change in technological advance in the car, battery and fuel industries. What we lack is leadership because the hacks in our government oppress the economy to kow-tow to every special interest in order to maintain their power.
We need term limits NOW. We need government to get out of our business.

GM goes kaput. Who besides the UAW losers will care?