OK, who is the one impersonating Ben Stein and what did he do with the real one?

[question everything]

On CBS "Sunday Morning" he actually spoke in favor of helping the car manufacturers. For the same reason that many of us cite: 3 million people out of a job would aggravate our fragile economy even more and for national security reasons. They built tanks in WWII. Who builds them these days/

I am still puzzled about how, exactly, those billions of dollars can help Detroit if no one is buying. If it is through car loans - isn't this what Paulson is having in mind, helping the consumers directly to secure loans?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. You know what. The freepers were right. Obama is hynotizing EVERYONE!!!

:rofl:

[GrizzlyMan]

2. The bailout is to help them meet payroll, etc.

It does NOTHING in the way of helping them help themselves on the long term. And therein lies the problem. I'm all for helping, but I want some guarantee there is some long term plan to increase sales. If there is not, then I'm afraid a bailout is merely a band aid.

Our DU resident GM/UAW expert says we should all happily hand over our tax dollars to the same idiots that ran the companies into the ground and "keep our fucking mouths shut" because we are "anti worker" if we don't blindly hand over money. I disagree with that assessment.

[question everything]

5. Just as last year, they striked

to assure job security and I wondered here how many of us can demand job security.

No one's job is secure these days, and this is how we have had it for almost 30 years now, when we shifted from manufacturing and farming the a service based economy.

So if we purchase only what we need, we send the whole global economy on a downward spirals. And to artificially keep one industry afloat will just postpone the final blow.

I know that we need this industry, I just don't know how a bailout is going to help.

[villager]

3. shouldn't they be building rail cars, instead?

n/t

[DJ13]

4. Remember when the Nazi's reign ended

There were few Germans that would admit to supporting them afterwards in Germany.

Not saying Ben Stein is a Nazi (far from it), but the situation is similar with the once arrogant neocons after the failure of Bush.

I knew that this was going to happen as soon as one of the original members of the PNAC (Fukiyama ..sp?) did his 180 degree about face a couple of years back.

[dorkulon]

6. Stein has actually been making sense (on the economy) lately.

I've seen him on Larry King and read a column or two by him in which he basically admits that greedy Wall St. fuckers have ruined the system, and he even suggested a bottom-up bailout in which the gov't would pay people's mortgages, in turn helping the banks. He still thinks Bush is a "good guy" though. And he is also still a delusional creationist. But apparently he is not heartless.

I don't think the auto bailout will work long-term unless trade regulations are changed to make a fair playing field between domestic and foreign car makers. GM pays more overhead, and that should be reflected by a tariff on imports. Without that, they are still in the same boat, sinking.

[Snotcicles]

7. Good thing GM was here when we needed them.

http://www.flintjournal.com/20thcentury/1940/1940victory.html