US Debt = $10 trillion. How about Nancy Pelosi take a salary of $1 and Barney Frank, too? Oh, and while we are at it, lets appoint a Czar to watch over government expenditures over $25 million. I hear the King of Cartoons is available.

Al Gore is the one who said ICE’s are the biggest threat to the planet Earth, and it appears Statik is willing to follow his example. Statik says Gov’t MUST punish bad behavior, especially in Canada. It doesn’t take that much foresight to see what the next step is. As risk of being redundant, I will repeat myself from #108:
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“Private ownership of a car and truck would have to be justified by the government on a case by case basis, and it wouldn’t be cheap. Cars (such as the Volt) could be rented from the government on an as-needed basis, provided you can demonstrate that you have a reasonable need for a private car. Most cars and jet aircraft would become museum pieces.

Only Congress members would have unlimited access to cars and aircraft, as they possess the intellect to determine, on their own, if the car or aircraft use is truly justified. American citizens have proven, time and time again, that they cannot be trusted to make such decisions on their own. Even now, Americans are buying big SUV’s again. Don’t they ever learn ?”
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Most people don’t think beyond “What wine goes with Marinaded Chicken and Artichoke Hearts?” Congress members don’t have to worry about mundare matter like that. This frees their minds to contemplate weightier issues, like global warming, and the enviroment – Things most people take for granted. Yes, they are smarter than the average person – you can be sure they would NEVER take their own private jet, to hold out a tin cup asking for bailout money. It called THINKING, people – it’s that they do.

Don’y worry – once the gov’t controls health care, people who disagree with Congress would be diagnosed as self-destructive, which is a mental illness. They would receive appropriate treatment, until they can no longer remember why they questioned the wisdom of Congress. Then, they would be cured, and could safely reenter society.

Now, what are the names of those opposing the gov’t bailout again? Those poor, sick people need help !

#72 Statik says
If America wants to get real on MPG/emission standards, they have to look in the mirror…and tax the tar out of the gas. You can’t legislate good behavior, but you can punish bad behavior
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This statement is stupidity squared. Most people have to rely on thier automobiles to get to work and to function in the type of society we have today. Not everyone lives in NYC or other areas where their is some type of decent mass transit. The idea that we punish bad behavior is idiotic. Who is going to define bad behavior? If I take a Sunday drive with my family to visit some nice places is that bad behavior? What is bad behavior, Statik? Please define it if you can.
This Statik always seems to have the dumbest comments on this site.
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Thanks for the shout out.

/drive a smaller car

Doubling the price of gas does not render everyone to travel on foot. It makes everyone drive much smaller, more efficient vehicles (trucks included)…it forces technology to increase faster to meet the needs of the people.

Your Sunday drive with the family is now done in a Cruze rather than a G8. Costs you the same…you still get there…we use half as much foreign gas…we pollute less.

If you drive a new Cobalt now and you can’t afford the gas as it stands, you have to buy a couple year old Cobalt to lessen your payments. If you already drive a beat up, small, fuel efficient car and you can’t make the payments, you are already on the fringe of society, and probably you shouldn’t drive a car at all and you should be living in the city were there are more services/infrastructure to assist those who can’t help themselves.

/slanderous insults cast you in a bad light and also devalue what you are saying…regardless if you are right or wrong

“Statik thinks this bailout is all there is. He is far from correct. Some real changes, a ‘non-bankruptcy’, bankruptcy is coming, and some big dollars are in the mix.”
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I haven’t mentioned it lately, and my criticism in this thread is to do with actually underfunding this ‘bridge’ not that I disagree with the bridge itself or that it is the last thing to happen.

Actually the opposite is true. I have been saying (and making up terms) like “Government Sponsored Bankruptcy” is the only viable alternative left for GM for a very long time…long before it was popular, or even mentioned:

Here is my post from 3 weeks ago…before the ‘plans’ were issued, the bailout was in doubt (still looking for that extra 25 billion…not raiding the ‘retooling’ billions) and Wagoner was still yelling, “bankruptcy is not a option”
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#30 Statik says
November 18th, 2008 at 11:12 pm

C11 thoughts.

In my mind it is NOT feasibly possible to do it right now in any traditional (or way it was intended) sense, as you say credit is unavailable. Actually, it is remotely possible that most decently healthy companies will be swallowed whole by this economy, so thinking GM can pull off a C11 is dellusional thinking…at best.

What needs to happen here is a government sponsored bankruptcy, which sounds like a official, real entity…but it isn’t, I made that up.

Basically, the check list goes like this, (at least in my mind), the government gives GM some cash out of the ‘its just a retooling loan…no wait it is a bridge loan’ fund. (Look for the real deal to be tabled friday-ish and the money to go out 15 days later, lets pencil in December 5th or 8th lightly in our calenders)

With this money and another few billion from Cerberus it takes over Chrysler (which also scored a touchdown of billions from the US gov’t). It quickly streamlines the management and other random things it can still do on its own. Then it enters C11 (with a predestined/gov’t approved plan) where it cuts brands, dealerships, covers the union in pwnsauce, destroys lots of the suppliers who don’t make critical parts (retains/supports the ‘good/major’ suppliers from the artists formerly known as GM & Chrysler)…and unfortunately, totally oblivates you (if you are still around) and various other debtholders.

After it does all the twirrly things C11 can do, the government strolls up to the bankruptcy judge and plunks down another 25 billion or so, gives him the wink, and it is abnormally accelerated out of C11. (Ideally, a 3 month process…which would be unprecedented, but this is 2009ish and the gov’t is pretty much doing whatever it feels is necessary…so never say never).

GM/Chrysler is reborn as a debt free, with a product deep and rich, with employee costs per hour the envy of all its peers. At which point, the economy could be in a depression and it goes under…or things have levelled off and we get another glorius 100 years of summer buying our American made/America proud cars.

source thread for quote:
http://gm-volt.com/2008/11/18/auto-company-ceos-testify-before-the-senate/
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So lets go over the checklist. I think I nailed this fairly well, even before the parties themselves knew what they were going to do.

Gov’t gives GM money?: check
Gov’t does not give them a new bailout package?: check
Gov’t raids the ‘retooling’ loan?: check
Gov’t calls it a ‘bridge’?: check
Dec 5th or 8th for approval of bridge?: check
Plan to cut dealers? check
Plan to cut brands?: check
Plan to cut down unions?: check
Plan to obliterate debt holders?: check

Plans to take gov’t cash and eventually merge with Chrysler? Now talked about
Plans to get cash out of Cerberus for taking Chrysler? Being discussed still
Plans to have the government backed bankruptcy? Not specifically. But plans to get all the things done that would be done in bankruptcy by putting a ‘drop dead clause’ that puts GM into bankruptcy if all parties don’t agree to capitulate.
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Stas, (other than the part about me, lol), I enjoyed your post very much, I agree with almost everything you said, thank you for taking the time to write it. You have a very broad perspective on things, which I think is invaluable to being able to assess the situation.

(I don’t connect the credit freeze with the stalling by TARP and typical government bureaucratic do-nothingness…but that is only semantics at this point)

/thanks for the read

I just started driving 2 years ago, and I was so excited to break my record of cheapest gas I ever bought (used to be like $2.40, now it’s like $1.88). I even kept the receipt in my car, lol.

/Looking for the proper pre-production Volt mule to arrive.

Dave K

The Big 3 can sell 333,000 fuel efficient cars each during the first year and be turning a profit.

Cost 1,000,000 efficient cars X $3300 rebate = $3.3 billion

Each of the Big 3 WILL turn a 2009 profit at a cost of $3.3 billion. The good news is that the $3.3 billion will be going back into the pockets of the tax payers.

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Then we have 3 Non Profit Organizations. $3.3 billion earned, $3.3 billion returned to taxpayers.

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I think you missed my point. The odds of the Big 3 paying the bridge loan back are not good. By implementing the instant rebate plan the Big 3 can sell their efficient cars at near full value. So the Big 3 will make a profit on as many as they can manufacture. The instant rebate replaces the money the Big 3 are asking for. So, if the Big 3 want money, they will need to manufacture a lot of efficient cars.

And, as I mentioned before, the tax paying public will own efficient cars at a very low price. This plan is a sure bet, wherein the bridge loan is high expectations with no benefit to the paying (and losing) tax payer.

=D~