Will GM acually go Bankrupt or is it a Long term buy?

I'm not a fan of unions. However, I'm not a fan of upper management, either.

And I'm not opposed to a sensible government policy that targets critical industries and assists them in a competitive world where other governments are doing the same.

Business is war and we're not doing too well.

Sun Tzu could teach us something in going against our Japanese, Korean, Chinese and German competition.

Adam Smith's 'Wealth of Nations' is an inflexible and naive disposition on commerce in this new era.

It's time for United States 2.0

 

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121755649066303381.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox

Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart.

According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise.

Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states.

Wal-Mart's worries center on a piece of legislation known as the Employee Free Choice Act, which companies say would enable unions to quickly add millions of new members. "We believe EFCA is a bad bill and we have been on record as opposing it for some time," Mr. Tovar said. "We feel educating our associates about the bill is the right thing to do."

The bill was crafted by labor as a response to more aggressive opposition by companies to union-organizing activity. The AFL-CIO and individual unions such as the United Food and Commercial Workers have promised to make passage of the new labor law their No. 1 mission after the November election.

First introduced in 2003, the bill came to a vote last year and sailed through the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, but was blocked by a filibuster in the Senate and faced a veto threat by the White House. The bill was taken off the floor, and its backers pledged to reintroduce it when they could get more support.

The November election could bring that extra support in Congress, as well as the White House if Sen. Obama is elected and Democrats extend their control in the Senate. Sen. Obama co-sponsored the legislation, which also is known as "card check," and has said several times he would sign it into law if elected president. Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, opposes the Employee Free Choice Act and voted against it last year.

Both supporters and opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act believe it would simplify and speed labor's ability to unionize companies. Currently, companies can demand a secret-ballot election to determine union representation. Those elections often are preceded by months of strident employer and union campaigns.

Under the proposed legislation, companies could no longer have the right to insist on one secret ballot. Instead, the Free Choice, or "card check," legislation would let unions form if more than 50% of workers simply sign a card saying they want to join. It is far easier for unions to get workers to sign cards because the organizers can approach workers repeatedly, over a period of weeks or months, until the union garners enough support.

Employers argue that the card system could lead to workers being pressured to sign by pro-union colleagues and organizers. Unions counter that it shields workers from pressure from their employers.

Unions consider the Employee Free Choice Act as vital to the survival of the labor movement, which currently represents 7.5% of private-sector workers, half the percentage it did 25 years ago. The Service Employees International Union said the legislation would enable it to organize a million workers a year, up from its current pace of 100,000 workers a year.

Business groups say they're the underdogs since they will be outspent by unions by a wide margin. Labor has pledged to spend $300 million on the election and securing passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, compared with under $100 million by business groups, according to Steven Law, chief legal officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber's strategy is to focus on the Senate, where labor needs eight more supporters of the legislation to reach the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

 

There aren't many notable issues separating the two candidates but this sure looks like one.

 

How GM remains solvent is a friggin mystery. Why not just dump all your shit on the PBGC, cancel the idiotic union contracts, and make a profit.

I swear the government should have an unprofitable tax, double the rate of corporate income taxes, for every dollar lost on a large unprofitable companies. The purpose would be to kill off bleeding, inefficient dinosaurs and reduce the tax burden for all the efficient, profitable companies that make America great.

 

What GM needs to do is actually build a car that someone wants to buy. THAT is the problem and that is why the stock price is low and they will file bankruptcy.
Why bail out a company that doesn't make products people want to buy????

I have an american car and a japanese car and guess which one is a piece of SHIT. And guess which dealership is a ripoff and which one is very reasonable and treats their customers with respect.

 

gm has a plant in shanghai and sells tons of cars in china,the chinese are not fond of the japanese,gm in the U.S. refused to downsize in the late '70s and now it is costing them,the v8's are still running on the original small block,283 and 307 c.i. platforms,ford is still using the 289 block,one unofficial reason was for the oil companies to sell more gas,was the rumor for 3 decades,if it was true,the oil companies seem to have abandoned their pals,toyota on the other hand saw the mercedes as a great example of how to build cars and found a way to do it cheaper and sell to the not so rich,for awhile the union workers wouldn't buy them so toyota built plants in the U S and now these vehicles are everywhere,this was all out in plain site and gm had plenty of time to change,they didn't then,it's too late now,i wouldn't own it

 

I agree. No more american here. Drove a lot of crappy cars for a while that were American design. Now just Japanese until the function of American designed cars are better. The only thing they seem to excel in are cup holders and trinkets. GM and other auto makers are going down because to many proud Americans have tried to stick it out and lost their shirt on American cars. Auto makers have used up the patriotism buyers and now they want a car that works. Go figure?!

JIM

 

So true, there were a few patriotic buyers in my family up until a couple years ago - they couldn't take it anymore. Its not worth being patriotic when everyone else's car lasts 100k miles longer than your pos american car.

 

I have a friend who is one of the top top corprate bankruptcy attorney's in Detroit and about four months ago we talked about GM and he seems to think they are ok for the time being. He said that over the next year or two he would not bet on them going bankrupt, and that gives them plenty of time to work things out of they have smart managment. If they can not solve things in that amount of time then they probably will.

 

GM's MARKET CAP IS SMALLER THAN HOT WHEELS MARKET CAP LMFAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I AM ROLLING ON THE ROFFLE FLOOR LAUGHING