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My wife and I are about to buy our 9th Toyota in the last decade, simply because deals are really good right now. We quit supporting ‘Big Labor’ years and years ago, because ‘Big Labor’ gave us nothing in return. We buy Toyotas and support our neighbors who work in the factories in places like Fremont, CA and San Antonio, TX: People who give an honest day for an honest wage and produce a superior product; rather than those who force up the cost of an inferior product through blood-sucking apathy.

I agree with the Cato Institute guy. Let the “big three” die the death they earned. The “big three” is but another failure of socialism/Marxism. It has NEVER worked before, and “Big Labor” has proven it doesn’t work now and will never work.

The most certain sign of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and over, expecting different results. That’s liberalism for you.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to think of the bailout. One one hand, we've already thrown so much money at the banks, and look where that got us. And obviously, I don't want to waste more money on something that's going to fail.

On the other hand(the way I see it, anyways), is that GM, Ford, and Chrystler are THE only American car companies. Not only do they provide jobs, but they're also help defend America by build the vehicles used by ground forces. I certainly wouldn't want that to be outsourced.

Mabye the big three won't blow it. Doubtful though.

First we bailed out the banks and it's only a matter of time before this auto bailout boondoggle comes to pass. My question is, once the auto bailout passes, what industry will be next in line to get a bailout? I'm betting on newspapers.

Failing companies, American or not, should DIE.

Remember, for every Kiwi Airlines that die, a Southwest springs up in its place. Let the big three die and there will eventually arise other American car companies that are better managed.

Just watch... the bailout will happen for the Big 3. There'll be some hemming and hawing from Chairman Zero, lots of lip-flapping and tut-tutting, but it'll still happen. He can't let them go under when there are so many Union Workers that stand to lose their jobs, after all.

And who do those Union workers vote for? Who do those Unions donate wheelbarrows full of money to come election time?

p.s. Jimmy Hoffa is still dead.

"what industry will be next in line to get a bailout? I'm betting on newspapers."

One of the Chicago papers (tribune? can't recall offhand) actually has just said they're going to ask for a bailout. It was over at the Rottweiler earlier today. And the NYT is considering their "options" right now since they know ad revenue is going way down next year. Yep, the old gray wh*re is going to show up with her hand out too. But we knew journalism was dead, didn't we?

The demacrap party looks upon the public till as a gigantic piggy bank where they can dip their green paws into scoop up a handful of ill gotten cash to help their supporters then wonder why their polls are so low

@conservativeteen: You're assuming that no one else would build vehicles for the military if the no-longer-big three went under. For that matter, Chapter 11 doesn't mean they vanish in a puff of smoke. Their assets could be purchased, or the companies otherwise reorganized, and they can continue to make cars, without the financial burdens they are under now.

And this is why the bailout makes no sense. By bailing them out you are preventing that reorganization from taking place, or at best slowing down the march of progress and dragging out the pain of the failing automakers. If they can't get out of their hideous labor contracts, and jettison their astronomical health-care costs to retirees, and at least knock down their pension commitments, it doesn't matter how much money we give them. They will still make inferior vehicles that nobody wants, the foreign makes will still be more profitable (not to mention better quality), and the bailout money will be flushed down the hole.

This of it another way. Would you buy stock in GM or Ford right now? Of course not, they're in terrible shape from top to bottom. So why should the citizens of the United States give them any money, for which we wouldn't even get an equity position in return? If they can't find investors, or they can't get a loan, it's because the people that do those things for a living know a bad deal when they see one!

Let them file Chapter 11 and reorganize. They're going to eventually anyway, so we might as well get it over with.

After the bailout is finalized comes the hard part: convincing people that American cars are worth buying.