Radical idea to save the auto industry

[hogwyld]

Employee ownership. Have the government give the bridge loans in exchange for all of the outstanding stock. I think all of GM stock is something like 3-4 billion. Not sure about Ford and Chrysler. Equally distribute the stock to the employees so that they can determine who to run the company, and in turn, they have a vested interest in ensuring that the big 3 develop, design, and build the absolute best cars in the world. They will also have the access to the financial information to see if they need to give wage concessions, or cut back in other areas to ensure the long term health of their company. What do you think?

[robinlynne]

1. excellent. AND make only electric cars. or hybrid electric.

with solar apnels on the roofs. (which is enough energy to supply air conditioning and heating for the car.)

[dysfunctional press]

3. i'd rather have a sunroof than a solar one.

and what about convertibles? :shrug:

[hogwyld]

4. And a lot of people want to drive

humongous, gas guzzling SUV's. Alas, the realities of today dictate that we need to capture that ray of sun on a solar panel instead of our hair. The only way to save what's left of our planet is all electric transportation.

[dysfunctional press]

7. ...

:eyes:

[robinlynne]

8. what about them? Are they worth wars for foreign oil?

[dysfunctional press]

9. i'm just saying that requiring solar roofs would be a bit much...

as if the technology to do what you propose affordably and on a mass scale was even available and in place anyway...:eyes:

[hogwyld]

13. With the depletion of fossil fuels

that will probably be the only way we can have a car. Our days of top down cruising are coming to an end.

[dysfunctional press]

17. doubtful. there are enough fossil fuels left to last centuries.

besides, i don't remember seeing too many hardtop buckboards.

[zonmoy]

22. Fossil fuels might last for centuries but every year they will get more and more expensive to

produce until we either have to switch to non-fossil fuels or have technological civilization die. Figure the second option is more likely.

[Romulox]

14. This is obviously not economically viable, or a non-US car company would be doing it. nt

[dysfunctional press]

18. EXACTLY right...too many people with "ideas", but apparently not enough reality to go around.

nt

[Johonny]

2. Why not bust them up?

I'm sick of companies that are too big to fail. Time to produce multiple smaller autocompanies. It's funny we hear how most new jobs come from small businesses, but tax payers are forced to save large corporations over and over again. I say bust up the big companies and forces them to innovate.

[hogwyld]

5. Or let the employees that own the company

decide how they succeed or fail. They know if they continue to build crappy, gas swiggin' junk, they will go hungry. Pretty good incentive to work your ass off to make sure everything is right.

[BR_Parkway]

6. Isn't that what we did with AT&T years ago? And now it's come full

circle and been all put back together again. And my phone bill still hasn't come down. All I get are more telemarketing calls.

[Romulox]

12. Tell it to Citibank. nt

[mdmc]

10. sounds good, except

it is not facism...
won't work in the USA...

[Romulox]

11. Ownership of GM, Ford, and Chrysler would represent a LIABILITY, not an ASSET...

These companies are insolvent.

Therefore, in buying up "all their stock", you'd be buying yourself into a debt. Do you understand? A debt (that you owe!) is not an asset.

[hogwyld]

15. Yeah, but isn't a majority of that debt

pensions and other benefits for UAW workers? They could restructure some of that now that they're owners.

[Romulox]

16. No, you can't just "restructure" debt unilaterally. That's what bankruptcy is for. nt

[hogwyld]

19. It wouldn't be unilaterally.

With the UAW, they would be renegotiating with themselves.

[Romulox]

20. LOL. I don't think you're understanding that current labor costs are a small part of the problem

The UAW wouldn't be "renegotiating with themselves" as to dealer or supplier contracts, for example.

[99th_Monkey]

21. Abso-fucking-lutely. Certainly works for the Basques in Spain. has now for decades.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondrag%C3%B3n_Cooperative_Corporation

[hogwyld]

25. Do you think something like that

could work here? I would like to see it tried at least.

[99th_Monkey]

27. Yep. Getting UAW or whatever union involved is the key

Labor has a rich history during the late 1900's of being all about worker-ownership ...
but around the turn of that century they opted instead for the collective bargaining
motif lock-stock&barrel ... but that could be reclaimed.

How else is anyone proposing that newly created jobs in the "green energy" sector will
be "outsource-proof"? This is one of the beauties of worker-owned business is that
the very LAST thing they're going to do is outsource jobs overseas. There are many other
benefits as well, but this one alone should cause policy makers and industry workers
to stampede too the worker-ownership model.

[Greyhound]

23. Union-government partnership. Let the people that know how to build

design, and engineer, cars do it.

Government brings the money and large-scale management to the table.

Shareholders, especially those holding the preferred shares, are left holding the bag for their inaction.

[hogwyld]

24. Exactly what we need to do

I think if we get the engineering and design work right, and build a top quality car, people will come back.

[Greyhound]

26. Of course they will. I have never, not once, met an American that said they are

glad that the American companies don't build a vehicle that they are happy with. If we turned our talent loses in this industry we would see the coolest cars on the planet in a decade, the one and only hitch to this our "leaders" insistence that the parasites not bear any of the pain they have caused.