Two bailout plans for auto industry. First government buy controlling interest in GM.

[rhett o rick]

Tell Ford and Chrysler tough luck. Then loan GM the money necessary to build energy efficient cars. Reduce executive compensation to that typical of other industrial nations.

Second plan, and a little more serious (but not much) is the government contract with some major health insurance companies to give the auto workers health benefits similar to government employees. This will take a tremendous burden off the automakers. Loan them money to operate if necessary.

And in both cases impose tariffs on all imported cars.

Of course as I posted elsewhere, arrest Paulson and Bernanke for fraud.

[Eric J in MN]

1. Give GM employees the same government health care...

...which Senators get.

Then the employees of other companies would demand that.

It would be the start of something big.

[Lasher]

2. Better yet, provide universal health care for all right now.

If the big 3 are so hard up because they have to provide health care to current and former employees, this should take care of GM and a host of other companies nationwide, while moving the nation in a positive direction for the good of all.

[rhett o rick]

3. SOCIALIST SOCIALIST SOCIALIST SOCIALIST

I totally agree. But I thought this might be a way to break that ground. Ease into it. Oh, and sorry to call you a socialist. jk

[Lasher]

5. Socialism is a dirty word in the US but nowhere else.

We loves us some free market capitalism in the good ol' US of A, and lookee how great it's workin' out fer us! I'm told that's not socialism or communism when we give a trillion dollars to banks and other corporations. It's something else that we Democrats can't understand I guess.

[rhett o rick]

9. The romantics love Ayn Rand and lasse faire capitalism. But it is intrinsically unstable.

Pure capitalism will eventually eat itself. IMHO the most successful economic system include a mixture of capitalism and socialism.

[Lasher]

10. Laissez faire capitalism is an illusion.

Somebody always has their hands on it. It's just a matter of who.

[HeraldSquare212]

6. I always thought universal health insurance would happen when it helped the corporations.

Maybe this is that time.

[rhett o rick]

8. I think this is as close as we are gona get. nm

[Lasher]

11. Junior wanted to end employer-paid healthcare.

But neither he nor his corporate cronies wanted anything else in its place except catastrophic-only private insucance company policies 100% funded by individuals. That was one of the things he didn't get to check off his to do list. Gutting Social Security was another.

But I'll give him credit, he managed to do quite a bit of damage in these past 8 years.

[rhett o rick]

7. B I N G O

I hope that doesn't come across as condescending. I completely agree.

[dkofos]

4. From my calculations we could by ALL the shares of GM for