It was an accident of Great Lakes anatomy that all three ended up in Detroit, but concentrating such a big industry in one location has always left Michigan in a bind.  Granholm & her predecessors have done little if anything to diversify & lessen their dependence on the big 3, except for a few come-hither commercials.

The sad and hard truth is that we cannot continue to reward failure.  They should be allowed to go Chapter 11 & reorganize just like most of the major airlines did, which are no less crucial to our economy.  Any money 'loaned' to them, if that goes down, should come with some serious strings and a mandatory cleansing of corner offices.  The UAW ain't the bogeyman here, they've stepped up & made significant concessions over the last couple of contracts only to see management eff up.

yeah and i see the workers taking pay cuts .... rolls eyes. Unless you have the full contract and not the stuff the media printed then Ill go as far as saying "BS" as the unions doing thier part

Why continue to funnel tax payer money into a business that is failing?  The big three are failing miserably because they aren't changing.  They keep on asking for more and more money yet little is changing on their end.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results, and that is exactly what is happening here.

The big three need to completely restructure their business.  They need to recognize where the auto market is going and follow it rather than stubbornly clinging to their big trucks and suvs.  Ever since gas hit $4 most people are valuing fuel economy over all else, 2-3 years prior to that (and to this day) there was a noticable shift in people wanting to be "eco-friendly" yet the big three were doing little to offer any cars to that market and now they are paying the price.  Any business that doesn't recognize market changes and jump on them is going to fail.

No it's not all the Unions fault, as I just pointed out, but they also play a part with their demands for hefty benefits, which is part of the reason the big three are hemoraging money at the moment.  The real answer here is declaring chapter 11 so that they can get some temporary relief.  During that time they can restructure their business, close down plants if necessary, open others if appropriate.  But the big thing is that they desperately need to change.  Will it be easy, no.  Will people lose their jobs, probably.  But that doesn't mean it isn't necessary.  Feeding more money into a failing business plan is not going to magically fix the big three and make them profitable.

Well, I'm not sure that works out well.  Michigan is pretty self sufficient with metal if it needs to be.  There is still an awful lot of iron ore that travels up and down the great lakes to supply iron works.  That's how the big three took root here, after-all

The Unions have not helped out, that is for sure.  Companies cave to demands when they those hundreds of thousands of dollars each week that the workers are on strike.  The Big 3 aren't nimble at all, and the workers don't want to give anything up.  The Unions also force the companies to lay off in order of seniority.  That's not the best way of doing business, either.

I don't see them being "bailed out".  They could get loans, but they also need to be restructured to become competitive.  They can't keep paying $20 an hour to a line worker that only has a GED.  They can't keep providing such massive benefits.  And, more importantly, they need to get their head out off their ass and start making cars that people want.  If Toyota can do it, so can the Big 3!

As of right now, Michigan is screwed.  We're in a massive recession, businesses are closing left and right, and it's really hard to drive down a street and not see houses that have been foreclosed on. 

That is really the key.  We already have a bailout program for the big 3.  It is called Chapter 11.  But when a company files Chapter 11, all its contracts become null and void and have to be renogiated.  This is not a bail out of the Big 3, but of the UAW.  They cringe at the thought of losing their contracts.

As bad as it is, there are still millions of cars being sold (and will continue to be sold) and all the aftermarkets will still be there. What will not be there are the fat union contracts.  And that has them - and their democrat mouth pieces - running for cover.  To what amounts to another transfer of wealth.

you hit it on the head. Why do you think Nancy is up there screaming for this bail out to happen yesturday already

Yeah see the other way is true too... for we settled on the contract BUT the strike went on close to a year, so with all the bad media that the company got it still hurt even if the union was not busted out.

Her soufle fell?

Unions started like just about everything with good purpose. What happens is greed starts to take over and the "then was a great thing" turns into a machine. There are many instances in history that will state thing.

Unions had a place in time when they were needed... not so much anymore.

Really? Just that I thought we were talking about 3 companies failing here, not every single company in the entire industry...

Ive been telling people this that are for the bail out. They automatically assume I am anti union...which I am in a way but I have my reasons because ive seen both sides of the fence. Ive said if before unions for the most part are only in it for the money and never worry about : " DANG is this company going to be able to stay afflot 4 years from now with all these "extras" included in the package?"