Auto industry bailout bombs in TBJ poll

It’s a good thing for the Big 3 U.S. automakers that they don’t have win approval from Triangle Business Journal readers for the $25 billion bailout they are seeking from the federal government.

Voters in TBJ’s latest online, unscientific poll overwhelmingly rejected the concept of a government bailout of the automobile industry.

Nearly 75 percent of the 969 voters voted “no” on the question “Should the government bail out the auto industry?” Only 18 percent of the voters said they supported a bailout, while 8 percent chose the answer “I’m not sure.”

Here’s a sampling of comments made on the poll, which was active from Nov. 12 through Nov. 18.

• I buy my own health insurance. I really don't want to pay with my tax dollars for the "right" for an auto worker to continue company-paid health insurance with no co-pay and no deductible. Bail me out, please.
• The UAW and pro-union government policies have finally succeeded in driving the Big 3 out of business. If I hear one more interviewed UAW worker complain that they aren't getting paid enough for their help in making their US auto company successful, I'm going to puke.The UAW has made it impossible for The Big 3 to make small cars profitably. The foreign transplant car makers can do it because the UAW doesn't have a stranglehold on them. Let them go bankrupt, cancel the union contracts and start fresh.
• The term "bailout" is a bit misleading when applied to the auto industry here, especially when the $25 billion loan they're requesting is put in context compared to the $700 billion BAILOUT the financial industry perceivably requires. It’s necessary to keep in mind here that the vast majority of a domestic vehicle's cost is related to employee benefits that most people would disagree with foregoing. Few industries have the pension fund and benefits requirements that the auto industry does, so maybe the question becomes how to subsidize these fixed costs rather than talk about a "bailout".
• Unfortunately, the overall economy of the US is intertwined with the auto industry. Failure of any one of the big three will most likely cascade into failure of all three. That would idle literally millions of workers and devastate the economy for years to come. Pouring money into banks to save the economy will be all for naught if GM fails. How did we get into this mess again?
• Let them file bankruptcy and restructure their debt while offloading their pension obligations. It will allow them to renegotiate labor and supplier contracts and maybe offer lower priced cars in the long run. Who gets hurt the most? Common stockholders. Biggest downside is no one wants to buy a car from a potentially defunct automaker. Mitigating factor – no one wants to buy their cars now anyway.

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