Pelosi to Sacrifice Big 3 to Help Silicon Valley Auto Startups Tesla and Fisker Automotive? »
Posted By pc25 1 year ago in NewsABC News reports that congressional Democrats are giving President Bush an "ultimatum": extend billions in taxpayer-funded loans to Detroit, or else:
"Your decision to utilize the TARP funds, or to work with the Federal Reserve to make available assistance through its existing lending programs, or both, are essential to the Congress ability to address this critical economic situation in a timely manner, and would also eliminate the uncertainties inherent in the legislative process, " say Senate Makority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic committee chairmen in the letter.
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pc251 year ago
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FTA
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Powerful Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Feinstein beg to differ. Their state's political and business class speaks contemptuously of Detroit's "dinosaurs." They believe Silicon Valley-produced alternatives are the answer, and they demand equal access to federal money to prove it.
The fight over the bailout offers a foreshadowing of how things may go for Democrats next year. Herding cats might not be as easy as it seems. And after January 20, Democrats won't have anyone to blame for themselves for what happens.-
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StevieGee1 year ago
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pc25, Am I to understand that you think that the government should really bail out the big 3. This seems a little socialist to me. If you are going to be a socialist then might I suggest a single payer government health plan. This would actually amount to a bailout for the auto companies too because one of their big problems is the cost of the healthcare for their employees and former employees. As to the Tesslas and like, there are more reasonable models of cars available and some aren't even built in California. Look at the Phoenix.
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http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/ These are in the 25 - 30 K range. Can you afford that? It's all electric, It goes 0 - 60 in 9 seconds, 95 MPH, 100 miles on a charge, and charges in under 10 minutes. Detroit can do this they just don't. -
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hamy1 year ago
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I get it now. If you are poor and need money to help you through rough times, then you are a welfare abuser and are using socialism to control the country.
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If you are rich and don't need the money then you are an American industry who is on the verge of collapse and must be saved with taxpayer money.
How is it now socialism to use taxpayer funds to bail out businesses that haven't responded properly to the market? -
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jordan111 year ago
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Not true, pc25. Pelosi is NOT after the "bailout money." 25 billion was allocated for alternative energy research (vehicles) in the 2006-2007 budget. Next.
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http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/11/30/edta-confe...
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pc251 year ago
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http://www.autoweek.com/article/20081110/FREE/8111...
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Fisker Automotive
Beautiful car, gets 100 mpg but at a base price of $80,000.......
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9071031.047/fisker-hyb... -
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pc251 year ago
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TESLA Motors
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http://www.teslamotors.com/
another $80,000 sports car
the final irony with what Pelosi is trying to pull
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/18/tesla-wants-a...
Tesla Wants A Piece Of The Hypothetical Auto Bailout Fund
The big three automakers are clamoring for a piece of the hypothetical $25 billion auto-bailout fund. And newcomer Tesla wants a piece of that too, apparently. The startup auto-maker has requested $400 million in low or no-interest loans to fund two upcoming projects (likely their new $70k electric sedan and a low priced third car).
do the Dems have any idea of what they are doing????-
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Wolfie20071 year ago
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Why can't Tesla just go to a bank? Why should taxpayers fund such ridiculously expensive cars just because no one else will? I believe that if there is a demand and need for these kind of cars then private money will bring them to fruition. It's a good thing Henry Ford or the Wright Brothers didn't come begging for taxpayer dollars because we could still be using horses.
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GehlLady1 year ago
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FTA:
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"The clearest sign that the votes are still not there for a Detroit bailout came shortly after the end of the hearing when Democratic leaders sent President Bush a missive saying, basically, you do it."
Too funny if this waasn't so serious. -
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Patience1 year ago
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I say give them some of the money under some conditions, Like produce a mid-size sedan no frills car for around $15,000 by 2011 that gets 250 to 400+ miles per charge. It doesn't need to accelerate to 60 in under 4 sec like a race car. It also doesn't have to be a luxury sports car. It will have to fully charge in less than 5 hours on a standard 110 volt outlet. They would sell the hell out of them if they could do it.
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RRconComment removed: Spammer, Hard Banned12 Replies
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Klarissa1 year ago
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I think the the auto companies should declare bankruptcy. Give them money now, they'll be back in six months because without a crisis event like bankruptcy nothing will change. The fat cats at the top will still be there, and the green cars will be in the design state.
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pc251 year ago
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they should declare bankruptcy and reorganize.....get out from under all their labor agreements and their agreements with all the dealers. In my town in Nassau Country there is a huge Pontiac, Hummer, GMC dealership and within 1000 yards east of that dealership on the same main road there is a huge Chevrolet dealership selling basically the same cars and trucks only under the Chrvrolet name. It's called badge engineering and it saps the profits of GM. They are the same cars and trucks with different skins. Once they reorganize, and cut out the duplicate cars under the different brand names, close the more inefficient plants and renegotiate a fair and equitable labor agreement for BOTH sides with the UAW then and only then LOAN them the money. Klarissa they also need to set up plants like the one that one the was in the article you posted on the Ford plant in Brazil.
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reallypsst1 year ago
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I agree we will have to support unemployment and welfare programs anyway,did anyone hear about GM wanting to convert their financial lending sector into a bank so they can double dip into tarp funds what the hell is going on here auto makers and bankers to.all this is bs the auto industry can merge and make a line of affordable vehicles with what they have now we have been giving them billions to retool and they have played us like fools,here is my problem that nobodys talking about who is going to buy these new cars and with what money,meanwhile there are fifty thousand used car dealers with millions of cars on the lots some only six months old many are repos. This is another sleazy move by crooks,this loan will pay for their debt now and later they will still file for bankruptcy and screw us out of our money.
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pacbasintx1 year ago
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What's wrong with giving the dinosauers all the bones and letting the start-up dogs fend for themselves? Just about everything under a democratic system. Big 3 lobbyist most powerful in the country - let them win again? If you bail'em out - cut the pie equally or not at all (my preference.)
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Jaydee401 year ago
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Just throwing this out there but remember the war years, 39 to 45 for most of the world. If some company came up with a good idea but didn't have the means to mass produce it the government got an already established company to make it under agreement. could that be the answer with new upstarts and old out of date plants?
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nonparted1 year ago
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if im not mistaken but doesnt the government give out loans already to upstart a company. although i dont know how much of a loan is available?
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i work for a small company and the owners told me that if it wasnt for a government loan their business wouldnt of become a reality -
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nonparted1 year ago
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if we are in a recession and people are scraping to get by.
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where does this money come from that these politicians are willing to hand out.
without real conditionsals the government has done is opened a huge can of worms at the taxpayers expense as usual.
some examples of conditions before bailouts are handed out:
1)asking for the ceos resignation of all companies even wall streets
2)taking away their stocks within their company
3)restructuring of the company -
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simonsez1 year ago
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This article in the NY Times today reflects a distinct odor about the Chrysler portion of the deal.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/business/06chrys...
Delta went Bankrupt, United went bankrupt, American went bankrupt, Continental went bankrupt, many other companies have declared bankruptcy and emerged leaner, stronger and viable.
This is payback to the unions ... not to the automakers. -
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simonsez1 year ago
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Chrysler's owners, whoever they are, will make BILLIONS on this bailout. Chrysler is a private company owned by secret investors...
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What do you want to bet there are many politicians around the world that are participants of Cerberus. -
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ricknkit1 year ago
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The B"Big 3" could literally retire tomorrow and not hurt at all. All they have to do is file a Chapter 27. Sure, the workers might have to work for a little less, (not bad for not needing a college degree to do assembly line work), but the rest of the americans would not have to suffer.
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Nancy Pelosi is the biggest problem. She is the catapult behind the subprime mortgage lending crisis which is why the BANKS are getting the money. Nancy Pelosi is only out for votes, ushing in a new era of "Let everyone give to everyone" philosophy. Capitalism in short is: "You reap what you sow". "Socialism" is: you reap what others have sown. I am sure the "illegals" and those who don't want to work for a living LOVE this concept. It is time to stand up for values that so many hard WORKING AMERICANS have worked to hard for and fought for through the years. A new ERA is being ushered in under the guise of: Ask not what you can do for your country, but ask, what can't we do for you". -
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NoWayMan1 year ago
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there is no amount of money that can solve the Big 3's most obvious problem, and that's LACK OF VISION. you can't buy vision. you either have it or you don't.
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so, the bailout won't work. let the Big 3 file for chapter 11. then they can re-organize.
after that, if they fail, they fail.
and Pelosi won't be "sacrificing" anything or anybody. thats just stupid to even think that's what's happening.
the Big 3 are in this position by their own fault, not because of Pelosi or Tesla or anyone else.
and if we're going to start giving money away, why not give it to companies like Tesla who have their eyes on the future rather than companies who are like dinosaurs stuck in the past? -
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make_my_day1 year ago
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NoWayMan
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if we're going to start giving money away, why not give it to companies like Tesla who have their eyes on the future rather than companies who are like dinosaurs stuck in the past?/////////////////////////////////////////////...
The big 3 pretty much gave Americans what they wanted....Pick-ups and SUV's. It took a huge rise in fuel prices to shock everyone out of that way of thinking, but we are a looooonnng way from having the technology replace fossil fuels efficiently. Being a retiree, there's no way I could afford any more than around 25K for a car, so I just hope there will be gasoline to use for a while until those "alternative vehicles" are affordable for the average person. -
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widollar1 year ago
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The damage the Bush regime has done to America is enormous, but the damage Detroit has been doing to itself for decades is also right up their. Self destructive behavior like the corrupt Bush regime and GM need a new leadership team. Obama replaces Bush, and Rick Wagoner needs the boot. The new guy at Ford is still making slow progress, and Chrysler should fall off the face of the planet. They will not be missed. Only new leadership from outside Detroit can save GM. Their top executives ALL need to be thrown under the bus!
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Painesright1 year ago
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The whole fiasco is repulsive. It's corruption pure and simple. I just love this story about them spending $50 million in lobbying fees in the first nine months of this year. If you or I tried giving money to somebody in exchange for favors, we would go to jail for bribery. When politicians do it, they get re-elected. Disgusting!
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/03/cbsnews_...
And no bailout. Let them go bankrupt and restructure. Oh, and they last bozos we need deciding what type of cars should be made are the people in DC. The market needs to decide, period. Let the invisible hand work!! -
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altonnan341 year ago
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Bail out the auto industry and hold them to paying all loans back or just let them fold in the very near future and the people who work for GM can go on welfare and freebies and all the companies that depend on those good gm workers that would buy their companies products just let your companies go bankrupt then you can join those gm workers in the soup lines
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