A bailout question--

[spindrifter]

Who is being forced to accept "personal responsibility" if we deny financial assistance to the auto industry? The 3 million people who lose their auto industry jobs? The retirees who depend on their auto industry pensions after putting in 30 years working at the plant? We potential car buyers who didn't put our feet down during the past 35 years and tell the Big Three they had to go green? Uncle Sam who is going to lose more dollars to foreign imports? The Corporate Person? I just don't get this response as legitimate, so I need some 'splainin', I guess.

[whistle]

1. It is all predatory capitalism...

<snip>
Vulture Capitalism's cost in terms of human death and human misery has become so unbearable that we must now abandon it and establish a life-affirming Commonwealth Social System.

The political, economic, and general social structures of our society must now be re-configured to ensure the preservation and betterment of all human beings, not just the privileged few.

In this essay, we'll use the term "vulture capitalism" to refer to the specific economic structures and practices of the demonic cabal which took economic and political control of the United States in the early part of the twentieth century.

The term "capitalism," like any generic term, must be tied down to a particular application and practice. In theory, "capitalism" refers to a socioeconomic system in which the means of production are predominantly privately owned and operated for profit, through the employment of labor. The prices of goods, services, and labor are affected by the forces of supply and demand in a market. Decisions regarding investment are made privately, and production and distribution are primarily controlled by companies all acting in their own interest. Although most developed countries are regarded as capitalist, some of them have been called "mixed economies," due to government-owned means of production and economic interventionism.

As a general theory and practice, private ownership of the means of production, can be either positive or negative in its outcome, depending on those who are in control of the processes. When we refer to vulture capitalism, therefore, we're not speaking of the general, world-wide practice of the private ownership of the means of production.
That's too vague a reference to have any real meaning. The destruction of human life and well-being that results from capitalism in today's world is predominantly that practiced by the capitalist syndicate currently dominating the American and British political, economic, and social power structures.
<MORE>

http://www.hermes-press.com/capitalism_afford.htm

[doc03]

2. Why bail the Auto industry out? If they file bankruptcy that doesn't

mean they will not keep making cars. They file bankruptcy they can dump their legacy costs, inefficient factories, renegotiate a more realistic Union contract and reorganize. The steel industry begged for a bail-out back when Clinton was President and he did nothing. Over 40 steel companies went bankrupt, many of the inefficient ones went out of business, the ones that survived have consolidated and come out much stronger in the process. The company I work for went bankrupt in 1985 and was given a government guaranteed loan to keep us afloat. When Bush got in office we went bankrupt again and was given another government guaranteed loan from the Byrd Bill. A few months ago we were on the verge of bankruptcy again when a Russian Company bought us out. Our company was just too inefficient to operate as a stand alone company and all the bailouts in world wouldn't have kept us going.

[spindrifter]

3. Good response to the general why no bailout--but

the conservatives keep trying to pin the rejection on the importance of "taking personal responsibility"--which I think is totally bogus.

[doc03]

4. Yea like those crooks from AIG took personal responsibility. n/t

[spindrifter]

5. Yes--always ready for those spa perks!

[Farmall]

6. Look at it from this angle........

Why should the goobermint take money from you and I and give to a company, mortgage holder, banker, etc who acted foolishly with their money?

What message does that send out? If you work hard and are responsible, we're going to take money from you, but if you're a screw up, that which we took from this other guy, we'll give that to you to help cure your stupidity.

I think where so many are so angry about all these bailouts are the fact that the leadership that made the poor decisions that got them into this mess will still be at the helm steering the boat right toward the rocks.

If you had an electrician wire your home, and it burnt down due to shoddy workmanship, would you have him back when you rebuilt?