[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by Number 6

I know that I should not wade in on this topic, but I cannot help it. We live in a global economy and you have to buy where you can get the best value. What is an American car? Is it a Toyota made in Kentucky or a Chevy made in Ontario? There is a concept in economics called “comparative advantage”. This basically says that “If you can buy it cheaper than you can make it; buy it!” To badly paraphrase Adam Smith, “If this is true for a household, it is equally true for a country.”

I don’t feel that I should be forced to pay for the failure of the American auto industry. And I am not blaming the auto unions either. Management was more than complicit in that failure. Same with the electronics industry.

It would be great if PBS ran the “Free to Choose” series featuring Milton Friedman again. That is the best economics lesson I ever had.

Can you or anyone here explain how this, below, was allowed by its creditors to be the case, when GM filed for bankruptcy?

To me, anyone who had taken Accounting or Finance 101 would know the lending in this was a ticking time bomb.

GM had not had a profit since 2004, and in its bankruptcy filing, it had $172 billion in debt and $82 billion in assets. Huh??????

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124385428627671889.html

[Number 6]

Do I think GM should have been allowed to fail? Absolutely!

[mitchbr47]

Originally Posted by Number 6

Do I think GM should have been allowed to fail? Absolutely!

Who would letting them fail punish more? The stockholders and executives of GM, the suppliers who go bankrupt and cause a ripple effect for other American and foreign car manufacturers, the employees on the line, the devastating effect on communities that have auto plants in their community, the increase in foreclosures in those communities?

A good example of this would be Sterling Heights, Michigan. It is a suburban community just north of Detroit. It is home to GM, Chrysler, and Ford plants, along with numerous suppliers. Definitely a middle class community. In 2000 the median income was $77,873. In 2009 it dipped to $51,545. That is a 34% drop in family income to the 4th largest city in the state. Where we live in the summer months it went from 84k to 61.5K.
So I don't understand the rationale to let such a huge business fail. I understand that management has made poor decisions for decades. However, the residents and businesses communities nearby suffer even more.

Yeah, that would teach em a lesson.

[momesu]

Originally Posted by pauld315

Most big company software developed today is globally developed with most of the work being done outside the US. Many reasons for this but the big, used to be, US corporations are now touting themselves as global corporations. They are also offshoring massive amounts of high paying jobs to places like India, China, Thailand, Vietnam etc etc...wherever they can get the work done the cheapest. In addition, you might be surprised that the radiologist that read your MRI actually lives in India. With the advent of high speed internet more and more occupations will be outsourced. Who needs to have a doctor in the US perform robotic surgery on a prostate when it can be done by a doctor sitting at a console in China just as easily ?

That is just plain scary!
Also how do corporations figure American economy can survive if everyone in US is unemployed becasue all jobs have been sent off shore. Maybe we need to ask corporations why they need American CEO's when they can get a cheaper one in China........
Suzanne

[Number 6]

Any number of large companies have been allowedd to fail without the government intervening. When Bethleham Steel went under, Bethleham, PA suffered. So the question is why GM and not Woolworth, Grants, etc.? Where is the level playing field?
Oh, and your overseas rads are more than likely in Australia or Spain. Radiologists in the US choose to knock off at 5 PM and their services are needed 24/7. It is their choice to limit their income by limiting their work hours. At least in NY, these "nighthawks" need to have a NY licence.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by pauld315

........Who needs to have a doctor in the US perform robotic surgery on a prostate when it can be done by a doctor sitting at a console in China just as easily?

And thus our government's pressure to computerize all our medical records and keep them in one central system.

[thistrucksforyou]

It seems to me the older generation is more aware of these matters and care more of American jobs and the American economy..Maybe because they saw and remember the depression and the after effects...The younger people seem to have what I would like to call the "ME MY SYNDROME" What is good for me and I don't care about anybody else...but what is the name of an American made hearing aid? Is there any...Every generation should make this country better for the next....How are we doing ?

[billethkid]

Enjoy what we have now as it is no doubt the best it will ever be from here on in. Those who follow us will not ever know the freedoms we have (had).

And they have no investment in the past or the here and now so they are indifferent about almost everything.

The glory days and freedoms and opportunities we have all experienced in our past are either gone or fading fading away.

The me, my, mine, not me, not in my back yard, entitlement oriented, where's my freebie, generations just do not care. Add to that the cross section of born in America Americans continues shifting rapidly to less than majority being less than the majority.

Those with no investment in America...just do not care like we did....they don't. I speak from experience as I watch the difference in our 5 kids...our 11 grandchildren...3 great grandchildren...what the younger ones do and say or don't do and don't say would never ever have been tolerated in my days of growing up.

Yup...today is the best you will ever see it from now on. I feel sorry for the younger generations.

btk

[Matt and Gail]

Try looking here for AMERICAN MADE!

http://www.americanmadeproducts.com/

[momesu]

Originally Posted by thistrucksforyou

It seems to me the older generation is more aware of these matters and care more of American jobs and the American economy..Maybe because they saw and remember the depression and the after effects...The younger people seem to have what I would like to call the "ME MY SYNDROME" What is good for me and I don't care about anybody else...but what is the name of an American made hearing aid? Is there any...Every generation should make this country better for the next....How are we doing ?

Well after watching the news tonight I would say not very well.......
Suzanne

[senior citizen]

ditto

[asianthree]

just a thought if you bought your furniture from southern lifestyles the Ashley you are sitting on or sleeping on is from an asian company..My grandchildren (age 8 to 14) are taking mandarin in school because french is not as usable in business life...as for anything else i guess my sign on Asianthree says it all, i buy american when i can however my last 3 GM cars all had such problems that the dealership had to take them back (yep have big GM ties) but sadly i need a car that sat in my driveway not GMs so i bought a kia, look around there are alot of things we can buy from the US, but sadly more come from an asian country that the workers get paid pennies to make