TresSugar

Should Congress Bail Out the Automakers?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:30:32 -0800

If Michigan-bred Mitt Romney doesn't think Congress should bailout the auto industry, then the plan to save Detroit might need a set of jumper cables. Mitt wrote today:

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course - the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor, and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority, and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

But not everyone agrees with Mitt's persuasive case. In an attempt to persuade Congress that it must act, the big-three automakers may have given themselves a flat tire. Yesterday, the CEOs of GM, Ford, and Chrysler flew into Washington on private jets (which cost about $36 million each) so they could make in-person appeals for $25 billion of taxpayer money. Looks like first-class wouldn't suit the first-class beggars.

For more on how much the companies spend on private jets, and for some arguments in support of a bailout, read more.

ABC News reports that a private jet trip from Detroit to Washington, DC costs about $20,000. Ford's CEO takes the company's private jet back from Detroit to Seattle each weekend, while making $28 million as his annual salary. Meanwhile, thousands of employees get laid off, and the companies are asking the public for billions.

Still, if the car companies fail average Americans, not just jet-setting CEOs, have much to lose. The automakers and their affiliates make up 2 percent of the American workforce, and nearly one million Americans participate in GM's pension program, which would cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars if it collapsed.

What do you think the US government should do?

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Front Page: Australia Leaves Iraq, GM to Close Plants, South Dakota and Montana Primaries

CitizenSugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:01:08 -0700

Australia Leaves Iraq: Australia has ended its combat operations in Iraq. One of the first countries to commit troops to the war in Iraq five years ago, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a campaign promise to bring the troops home - and they're set to return in a couple of days. Pegging his decision on the actions of the previous government, Rudd said, "of most concern to this government was the manner in which the decision to go to war was made: the abuse of intelligence information, a failure to disclose to the Australian people the qualified nature of that intelligence." Australia's 500 troops have helped to train 33,000 Iraqi soldiers. No Australian soldiers were killed in Iraq.

GM to Close Plants: Car maker GM, in response to a growing shift to smaller vehicles with better gas mileage, said yesterday that it would end production at four factories in the United States, Canada, and Mexico that produce trucks and sport utility vehicles. In perhaps the biggest news of all - the Hummer brand might be discontinued. The CEO says the market shift to smaller vehicles is permanent, "we at GM don’t think this is a spike or a temporary shift.". The company plans to build a new small car in Ohio in 2010. The cuts will affect about 2,500 workers at each of the four plants.
South Dakota and Montana Primaries: Voters head to the polls today in the last two primaries of the six month season. Obama will hold a rally tonight in St. Paul, MN - the site of the Republican National Convention - and Clinton plans what's being called by some, a "farewell speech" in New York. Obama is floating the idea of a “unity meeting” with Clinton to come together and regroup after the long and brutal primary battle with his rival. Check back tonight to see the results (and any major announcements) as they break.

Front Page: GM Goes Bankrupt Owing $172 Billion

TresSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:00:43 -0700

General Motors has filed for bankruptcy today. The company says it owes $172 billion.- New York Times
An Air France flight traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people on board vanished over the Atlantic. - Huffington Post
Twilight dominated the MTV Movie Awards last night. - PopSugar
Microsoft has launched its new search engine, Bing, earlier than expected. - PC World
In a new interview, Nancy Reagan discusses her lovely conversation with Michelle Obama. She also says that President Obama snubbed her when he didn't invite her to the White House to celebrate the reversal of Bush's stem-cell research ban. - Vanity Fair
It's official: Octomom Nadya Suleman and her children will star in a reality show. - San Francisco Chronicle

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Front Page: Children of NYC Principal Ill With Swine Flu

TresSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 08:00:00 -0700

Sons of NYC assistant principal with swine flu very ill. - Associated Press
Dick Cheney slams Obama's national security policies and defends Bush administration. - Chicago Tribune
Pope wraps up Mideast tour. - VOA News
Obama to keep controversial Bush-era military tribunals of terrorism suspects. -New York Times
Prosecutors question Rove about prosecutor firings. - CNN
Mexican data say migration to US has dropped sharply in waning economy. - New York Times
GM to shut down 1,100 US dealerships. - Bloomberg

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Front Page: White House Wants to Bridge Divide on Abortion

TresSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:00:00 -0700

White House begins effort to bridge divide on abortion. - Wall Street Journal
Afghans protest against US airstrike that killed dozens of civilians. - Reuters
Blackwater security firm's era ending in Iraq. - CNN
Bush attorneys who wrote terror memo face backlash. - AP
GM posts loss and burns through $10 billion. - Reuters
Obama seeks increase in domestic spending. - AP
US retailers see signs of easing in sales slowdown. - New York Times
Wildfires in Santa Barbara force homeowners to evacuate.- AP

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Front Page: Nursing Home Gunman Kills 8, Faces Charges

CitizenSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:01:58 -0700

After a gunman in North Carolina killed eight people in a nursing home yesterday, police are investigating whether his estranged wife's employment there had something to do with it. The man faces eight counts of first-degree murder. - ABC News
The Obama administration pushed out GM's chairman yesterday, and urged Chrysler to form a partnership with Italian car maker Fiat if it wants more government aid. - New York Times
The stimulus package has lobbyists bustling with ample amount of work. - Washington Post
A spy network working mostly from government computers in China has been able to infiltrate over a thousand computers in 103 countries, including those at embassies and foreign ministries. - BBC News

Front Page: Venezuela Gets Rid of Presidential Term Limits

CitizenSugar — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:07:40 -0800

Venezuelans voted Sunday to do away with presidential term limits, allowing Hugo Chavez to potentially rule for life. - Christian Science Monitor
American automakers GM and Chrysler have until tomorrow to present the federal government with a viable turnaround plan or else the government can recall their emergency loans. - CNN

Investigators are examining the cockpit tapes from flight 3407, which crashed in Buffalo last week. The plane was on autopilot until just before it went down. - AP
Today France's top judicial body recognized the French government's responsibility for deporting Jews during World War II. Thousands of Jews were deported from France to the Nazi death camps during the occupation. - AP

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From Factory Town to Forgotten: Top 10 US Cities in Decline

CitizenSugar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:51:59 -0700

Ohio and Michigan may be key battleground states this election perhaps because they have the most to gain. In the list of fastest dying American cities, Ohio scored four slots and Michigan took two - it appears in these declining Rust Belt towns, there's nowhere to go but up.

What factors peg a town as "dying?" Dwindling populations, higher than average unemployment, and stagnant economies all combine to signal bad news for a city. The automotive industry has had the biggest impact on the trend, where the Michigan cities of Flint and Detroit (pictured) have seen unemployment approach 10 percent.

Though the cities on the list aren't facing the crushing real estate landscape that Miami, Las Vegas and Phoenix are seeing, it's hardly good news - the prices never climbed there to begin with. The one bright spot is that a survey shows that almost every city's economy in the US grew between 2001 and 2005; those making the list just grew at a much more depressed rate, some well below 1 percent. Here's the list:

Canton, OH
Youngstown, OH
Flint, MI - GM was founded here, and the city has suffered the auto decline even harder than Detroit.
Scranton, PA - Not even being featured on The Office can help the town build a post-industrial economy.
Dayton, OH

To see the rest, and one city who's rebranding to buck the trend, read more.

Cleveland, OH - The city has lost over 100,000 people since 2000.
Springfield, MA - Springfield is actively combatting the decline by launching a rebranding as New England's "Knowledge Corridor" highlighting the boatload of universities close by.
Buffalo, NY - Once one of the US's 10 largest cities, it's been in decline ever since.
Detroit, MI - Despite economic decline, it's in the midst of a baby boom: 430,000 were born during a period where only 280,000 died.
Charleston, WV

As the shift from industry to service and information continues, what's the solution to industrial cities in decline? Given the global energy crunch and the cost of importing goods from afar, will industry return to the US - or is it gone for good? How can these cities adapt - and which candidate has the best plan to make that happen?

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