Sen. Corker: The Auto Bailout Failed Over 3 Words

To Mikepalos. How hard is it to understand that if the big 3 didn't retool to fight Germany and Japan the US would have lost WWII. Tax payers have paid for Mercedes and Toyota to build in these states. Is that a level playing field????? Nobody's opinion is stupid.

Honestly, one of the best ways that we can let the UAW and the US auto companies know that we are not happy with the way that they do business is to stop buying cars from them.

If people would not buy a car from a bankrupt company why would they fly in a bankrupt airline? The argument from union backers is nobody would buy a car from a bankrupt car company so give us money. Gimmy, gimmy, gimmy is all people have been demanding since September (oddly the same month as the terrorist attack). I am not sure of the significance, but it is an odd coincedence. Is this the real target of Al-Queada? Mike Huckabee asked the rhetorical question of how and why for a long time did the dow loose twice as much in the last hour of trading then it did throughout the day? No one has answered that question. I agree with the President when he said that this economic meltdown is different from a regular recession where people stopped buying things. This is a Barney Frank Christopher Dodd, and yes the President-Elect looking the other way towards what a nine year old girl would know was CRIMINAL conduct in making loans to people who could not pay it back over a 30 year loan period created mess. It was further exacerbated crisis buy the fact that oil went to $150/brl. I disagree with the President that bailing out the car companies is the only way to go.

Sorry to say but the Last great car the big three made was the 1957 Chev.

Nice article but I suspect you meant to say "existing wage levels would have to become commensurate" which means equal in measure; not "commiserate" which means to have sympathy with.

to Mark Bresky; I hate to be the one to remind you that the auto industry's problems started like 30 years ago. You don't realize these are not UAW employees, they are GM, FORD, & CHRYSLER employees. Senators do not come and go with the President _you obviously don't know this as these Senators, both DEM & REPUB have been in Washington for 20 years for the most part. Yes, they did retool for the war effort, but so did every other industry; what was the alternative choice? Don't know what point you were trying NOT to make but you did it. Should anyone get laid off and still be paid 95% of their pay for not working? Then why lay them off? HOW STUPID. That is not effective cost cutting.

My hats off to all Dems & Repubs who oppose this farce. What business in their right mind gives workers 95% on the dollar to not work!! RIDICULES!! And the UAW like the AFL-CIO, not investing a dime in re-training displaced workers after all the workers have paid to them. This crap started in the 70s with the Steel industry -called sub-pay, when layoffs due to foreign competetiion nailed the industry. If you're going to pay someone, then get some work for the bucks. UAW workers should take a 20% paycut and work 4 days a week, no free money to sit at home and hope all will be better. Get out there and help your company get better or re-train for another industry.

Any federal assistance to the automakers is the first step to auto subsidies that will eventually have us paying automakers NOT to make cars. In all the discussions by the media and talking heads they virtually never mention the actual demand for cars.

Total union busting at it's best... everyone is complaining about tax payers money going to this bailout because of union backed employeees. None of you are talking about the 350 bil. of your dollars spent on the white collar workers in the financial industry. You can sure tell this blog is ran by the republicans. Sorry to say someone will pay for the 3mil. that go on unemployment and the retired peoples meds. Maybe we can all pay for the government run health care program that all you nonunionized people need because YOU have no benifits....

where is the language that requires people to by GM, Ford and Chrysler products? The UAW industrial terrorists can squeeze or concede as much or as little as they please out of the manufacturers, but with an impaired product line, the manufacturers sales prospects are not good. I kicked the habit three years ago - no more GM cars. The dealers are lazy - would rather sell to fleets and rental companies than cultivate individual customers. The "foreign dealers" (at least Honda and Lexus) run circles around the Chevy and Ford guys in my area (Long Island).

Maybe I'm stupid, but up until now (near retirement age) I have always bought domestic cars and trucks, and quite a few of them. There was a time when foreign vehicles were probably "better" than the domestics; during the '70's and '80's in particular. But nowadays I think they're mostly equal in terms of quality, and some of the domestics are actually better than the foreign makes. I don't respond well to intimidation or lies, especially from organizations like the UAW. Under current economic circumstances wouldn't you expect an organization like that to be prepared to immediately give up a little something, especially when most of their jobs are at stake? We got our answer the other day at Gettlefinger's news conference, as he lied through his teeth. The fact of the matter is that, other than new hires (of which there must be very few) the UAW membership have given up NOTHING. Every other stakeholder in the automobile business has agreed to at least come to the table and negotiate to enable the companies to survive. I like the domestic products and think they're getting better every day. But this lunacy of holding the companies hostage has to stop. Therefore I will retaliate in the only really effective way; I'll be buying a foreign made automobile next time, whether I think it's any better than a domestically produced one or not. They just won't "get it" until bankruptcy hits them.

There are far more cars being made in this country than people want to buy. Car manufacturing employment will drop until supply goes down enough to meet demand. This will happen regardless of how much taxpayer money is wasted on the UAW.

For everything that has a beginning there is an end. A river, a life, a book and a business. We are looking at the end of the car manufacturing business as it existed over the last bunch of decades. You can no longer be competitive with the world and other domestic producers (who employ American people) with the outrageous labor costs and inane work rules designed to inflate labor costs even further by requiring an absurd number of people to perform the most mundane job. Cut the pay by 50% of the top 5 execs what have you saved lets say 100 million. Put the salaries of the UAW in line with the rest of the competition and you have saved 30 dollars an hours times 2000 hours in a year times 500,000 members that amounts to 30,000,000,000. Who is to blame? One year is more than the total corporate welfare program. Stop being stupid and stand up for yourself, support your life style or the bloated pockets of UAW members.

How in the world can anybody have one good thing to say about a Bob Corker? Let me guess, you are all in FAVOR of the Bailouts - just not to certain companies? We flooded that guy's office with calls, emails, snailmail, and direct deliveries, but he completely IGNORED everyone and voted YES not once, but TWICE in favor of the 700 billion bailout package. Now he's suppose to be some kind of hero?????

The construction (housing) field has far more people employed by it, than the auto makers could possibly dream of. Upwards of 55 million people are involved in housing. From the actual construction, the manufacture of goods, the delivery of goods, the marketing and the selling of houses, etc. If construction doesn't happen, the the CARS will not be purchased, the TV's will not be bought, the ice cream will not be eaten. That will mean a great depression that will make the 1930's seem mild.

Regardless of which side you're on, the Big 3 have been brought to their knees by their own arrogance and greed. NOW they want to build 'quality cars that are econimcal and can compete with the Next 3.' The only way that can happen is to part ways with the UAW. Why do you think the Next 3 automakers are doing so well? Sure, they are also experiencing lagging sales, but they aren't losing millions every day. The UAW is looking out for its own interests, regardless of what happens to the Big 3. Looks like the tail is wagging dog here. But think about it, you may as well let the big 3 go, because when the tax increases come to start paying for all the bailouts, we won't have enough money left to buy a car anyway.

Oh yeah, Get with it, they allready took concessions by screwing anyone getting hired by the big big three. Your new wage 14.00 a hour. 28.00 dollars a hour is about 50.000 a year so now mr corker what is middle class. You really want to get rid of the job bank??? How about bringing those jobs back from mexico. As far as im concernd you dont have a clue.

I congratulate Senator Corker! He speaks the whole facts and truth regarding the problem with the UAW excessive compensation package; being the main obstacle to our US auto companies to be profitable. And yes, their management/s need to be given the door for caving every strike since the beginning of time, it seems. And lastly, the US Congress should be given a clean sweep next election and hopefully we can elect some people with some common sense regarding all of the devastating regulations they have themselves placed on the auto companies. Chapter 11 reorganization/s look to be the only way the changes will ever be incorporated; since our president is also caving to giving a little more of our money which will be just enough to get to Obama's next moves to save the labor unions. When will the voters ever wake up and elect some more people like Senator Corker????

For the past 8 years these senators wrapped themselves in the flag and talked about how patriotic they were. Need I remind these revisionist historians that it was the big three that retooled their assembly lines for the war effort during World War II? Not Toyota or Mercedes. Oh that’s right they were fighting against America. The real patriots are the UAW employees and the companies they work for. Not senators who take campaign contributions for foreign auto companies.

Everyone who wants the Big 3 to go bankrupt is shortsighted. Do you not realize that 10% of all jobs in the country are related to the Big 3? The Big 3 sent $18,000,000 to help Katrina victims. They didn't demand that New Orleans mayor or the governor of Louisiana lost their jobs. They didn't demand anything. Our congress has the best pension and health care of anyone in this country and they are horrible at running the government. It's only because the government can print money that there is any money left. Why is that the banks get all this money, don't have to answer for it, and still won't lend to people. I have no credit card debt. My house is entirely paid off. And still, my tax dollars will go to you people who decided to purchase homes and items that you cannot afford. That's what is not fair.

Senator Corker has a great idea____ Our automotive workers should work for the same wages that Japanese and European workers get. That should then also be the standard for the pay and lifetime benefits for all of our valuable Senators and Reps in Congress. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander.

THANK YOU FROM MICHIGAN. BIG 3, PA'S UAW ARE VERY CORRUPT. I'VE SEEN IT FIRST HAND. WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BAIL THEM OUT. THE NIPPLE RAN DRY. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

If these representitives actually worked for the American people there would be no Bailout of the big 3 or wallstreet.These greedy idiots built this mess, now let them live with the fruits of their labor. Any Bailout will be unsucessful until the leaks have been fixed!American Dollars make an ineffective plug for any leaking hole especially in the House, senate and wallstreet as we have seen in the headlines.

Everyone seems to have created all this fear if The Big 3 dies, if this happens, if that, why don't we let it go through bankruptcy, get rid of of all the FAT(UAW). Everyone is happy. RIP UAW, you are no longer welcome, if want to our help, show that you want to be helped.

While I do agree that the UAW needs to concede as much as possible. I see way too much blame being laid on the UAW. What about all the executives who's yearly salary is way, way over what is should be, especially considering the company has been failing for the last several years, did they take a pay cut, NO they flew on private jets to the capital to beg for tax payer money. There should be a simple rule for getting federal money. All execs take a 50% pay cut, no bonuses, no business retreats, no dinners on the company dime, no trips on the company dime, at least not until every last penny of the bailout is repaid to the government. I would even go so far as to say that if a company asks for taxpayer bailout that the top execs and the members of the board should step down, as it's obvious their own greed has gotten in the way of properly running the company. If we expect the hourly employees who actually do all the work and make the vehicles are expected to take pay cuts and benefit cut then guess what, so should every single supervisor, manager, executive and attorney that works for the company.