[TheForge] OT: several questions and thoughts

[Ries Niemi]

On Feb 3, 2006, at 5:00 PM, Demon Buddha  rabidly wrote:

>
> 	Well, price is what the market will bear.  GM has rolled back their 
> prices because people have stopped buying their vehicles in sufficient 
> proportions to force their hand.  One's choices are to roll back 
> price, improve the product so that people will perceive sufficient 
> value to justify the cost, or go out of business.  There's not much 
> else in the way of alternatives that I can think of. Oh, wait... I 
> almost forgot... the goverment can bail their sorry, inept asses out 
> and make YOU pay for it.  Under that scenario, you pay for a nice 
> shiney new GM vehicle and don't ever get to drive it home.  Nice 
> trick, eh?  It's called slavery.  No, I'm not joking or exaggerating.
>
> Remember Chiseler?  I mean... Chrysler?  Twice.  How about the S&L 
> scandal?  I'm surprised they didn't make us pay for Enron.  Oh wait... 
> that's right, they DID.  Silly me.
>


I love  you when you get all wound up like this andy-

But consider that GM lost 8 and a half Billion with a B dollars last 
year rolling back those prices- cant see that being a viable long term 
strategy.
As far as the government bailing em out- Bushie has gone on record 
saying he wont do it- but bankruptcy laws are pretty liberal for big 
dogs- they should be able to shake off a lot of that debt just like a 
wet dog...

Not saying its right or anything- but when you get that big, ordinary 
rules dont seem to apply.

The chrysler bailout was just government guaranteed bonds- the US 
government didnt actually give Chrysler any money- and the loans were 
paid back. There are some Heritage type thinkers that say the backing 
of the loans was worth something, and Chrysler should have paid the US 
govt for that decrease in interest rates caused by the govt backing the 
loans- but in terms of actual tax dollars, they all went right into 
missile defense programs and Halliburton jobs like they should, not to 
Chrysler.


Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist

http://www.RiesNiemi.com