CNN

[...] agree with Gov. Romney comments on the issue: (see the whole cnn post) "The U.S. auto industry right now is uncompetitive. It has high labor cost, health care [...]

Hey Michigan, aren't you happy you elected Obama now?

I love when some idiot chimes in with republicans and deregulation as the culprit. Take off the blinders realise the blunder of the dems for over-regulation with the sub-prime mortgage which created and ignited this mess. It started with Carter, doubled down under Clinton, denied during Bush and exploded this year.

Barney Frank who is the head hancho for the sub-prime debacle is who we're looking to for a FIX??? This crook and his friends on the take should be behind bars.

Search youtube for 'barney frank, fannie mae' – 'BUSTED!!!'

Once the Feds string up Dodd, Barney had better be next in line.

Horrible. Horrible. Horrible little, little man. What about all the workers? Romney is evil. People, we need to take back the country from greedy, heartless republicans. The government should pay all the auto workers at least half their pay until new jobs are found. It is the government who did not require U.S. automakers to compete with foreign automakers. It's ALLLLLL ABOUT OIL. AND THE WORKERS SUFFER. Romney, you will rot in hell.

IT'S NOT THE UNIONS bankrupting the US automakers- it's the LACK OF GOOD CARS.

COME ON DETROIT- design some cars the world wants to buy.

Many of the debts to retirees are unfortunate, but were promises to workers. Does Romney advocate for breaking promises? That's what I thought!

There's a plus and minus to bailing out the auto industry. But what angers me is Romney making this statement when I'm sure he didn't say this when he won the Michigan primary. How dare you Mitt!

The writing was on the wall after Katrina: Gas Guzzlers are out, Fuel could skyrocket with just one global event.

And yet they continued to pump out unreliable gas guzzling behemoths. Ford can't even build a switch that won't start a fire. Maybe it's time for a NEW american automaker, one that builds fuel efficient reliable vehicles.

Give the money to the american public, and we will pay off our mortgages and buy new cars. Corporate greed is unamerican, let 'em swing!!!!

I agree. But I also think there are enough cars on the road. I would like to see them get money if they change their business models. Perhaps retro-fit care that are on the road already to be more economical. Have them work on hybrid conversion technology instead. Giving them billions to put more SUV's on the road is ridiculous.

Lots of bloggers here who don't understand bankruptcy. Chapter 11 does NOT require they go out of business. It merely protects them from their creditors and allows them to easily re-negotiate contracts - something they desperately need to do - it doesn't mean they stop producing cars.

Lots of fearmongering here. Chapter 11 is painful but necessary. These companies are a mess.

Those so hateful against Romney.....you ought to LEARN before you SPOUT! His father, as head of American Motors, took a HUGE pay cut and lived by the same standards he asked of his workers! JUST because someone is RICH doesn't make them stingy or hateful or uncharitable! (In fact, there are facts that conservatives are MORE charitable than liberals! Go figure when they say "spread the wealth"-it must be only through the government we spread the wealth! People should choose themselves to be charitable and share their wealth!)

I totally disagree with outrageous benefits for union works...I'm TOTALLY for REASONABLE benefits for ALL WORKERS!! Some of the stories that come from union benefits are OUTRAGEOUS! AND...in fairness, some of the stories of $$ for CEO's and bonuses, etc. are ALSO OUTRAGEOUS!

We need COMMON SENSE to solve these problems....however, hateful, political comments will dig us deeper into these problems! YES, there will be some PAIN, but there is NOT any other way! I agree with restructuring and BETTERING not just throwing $$ in a deep hole!~

Typical Republican strategy: blame everything on Labor and the workers. I don't think the economy can afford to allow the American auto industry to go under as much as I'd like to penalize their leadership. I think it would be too much for an already ailing economy.

nobody is really looking into the big picture here... How many millions were dumped from these companies into the presidential race? How many execs have seen this day coming and continued to be paid at absolutle preposterous salaries? How many personal jets, company trips, bonuses, and etc have these big 3 been giving out. this whole mess really makes me sick and I will tell you why... All these companies, and just like the banks and mortgage lenders, are going to be saved. the high paying jobs will be saved. and all those CROOKS, or so called business execs that have reaped the benefit of others for so long, will continue to do so. because our country allows it. if you are poor and get into credit problems, your life is over. nobody will help if you were dying. but you take these companies who wasted billions and billions of dollars, cheating investors and tax payers, allow them to go bankrupt, and then hand over billions of dollars more to make the same mistakes again.

LET THEM FAIL. LET THEM SUFFER> IT IS ALL BROUGHT ON BY THEIR OWN GREED!!!

Im not a republican but i agree with what this man has to say on the subject. if these industries choose not to stay in the competition, then they should go under.

Romney is spot on. Instead of propping up a failing industry with an obscene amount of wasted money (only to have them inevitably fail later on an even BIGGER scale), let's take our lumps and let the market correct the problem of unions-run-amok.

Stop putting bandaids on cancer (bailouts) and allow the "patient" (union-enslaved American manufacturing) to die a merciful death, instead of insisting the patient cling to useless life support machines, that merely prolong the inevitable.

Capitalism isn't the bad guy here. In fact, Capitalism hasn't actually been allowed to work. Outside forces caused this problem, and MORE government intervention and more bailouts and more meddling in the markets will NOT fix the problem, rather it will make it worse. Let 'em fail and let Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW and Mercedes come in to the buy the fixtures and infrastructure at fire sale prices.

I agree with Mitt, but that's only half the story. GMC also needs to take a long hard look at what they're doing and ask why it isn't working. They need to take a lesson from all other sucessful cyclical manufacturers and stick to a smaller number of sucdcessful models and spend time making small improvements to them. In 10 years they could have cars as reliable, inexpensive, and generally economical as Japan if not better.

I agree with Romney, let them go bankrupt. Those three auto industries have not served the American people well for years. They undoubtably support big oil because they continued to make vehicles that sucked gas and didn't care about the American people not being able to afford the gas. They continued to make cars that were not mechanically sound and the American people have for years had a CAR NOTE and A REPAIR NOTE – SO LET THEM GO UNDER. What CONGRESS needs to do with the money they could have given the auto industry is give it to American people in unemployment benefits who work for these industries until they find new careers. Raise the unemployment benefits with the money and help these people train for new careers and FORGET FORD, GM and CHRYSLER.

Funny, we could spend hundreds of millions on financial friends on wall street, but can't spend $25 billion on car companies that provide millions of jobs directly to Americans, interesting. Again, the common man get's the shaft. How about they go Bankrupt and restructure but atleast the government finance them during the restructuring process, as credit will be hard for them to come by. I think saving manufacturing jobs is alot more important than bailing AIG, but we didn't bat an eye when they came a crawling.

Letting the businesses themselves fail is one thing, which is how the republicans tend to look at it. Leaving hundreds of thousands without jobs, on the other hand, would decrease spending across the board, and we really would be in Great Depression territory then.

Let them go bankrupt- they will figure it out just like the airline industry did.

The problem is the heads of the big 3 don't want to work at it- they want the easy way out of a loan (which will only help them limp along because NO ONE I know plans to buy a car within the next year!).

Another idiot has spoken.

I love the people on this board who can't spell or type a sentence that makes sense, but feel they can teach economics to Mitt Romney. Great stuff, I'm really enjoying the "enlightening" posts.

I'm wondering how much he wants to pay these workers? Maybe minimium wage will work. Where is it written that the ones who do the work should work for less and the company CEO'S get all the money. I guess it is the Republican mantra, that if you want the job you will work for this like it or not. Typical republican crap. Here is q question how much of the money that Toyota etc. stays in the US, my quess is "not much" If these foreign auto makers do such a good job, then how come their cars cost as much as US made cars? Romney is typical politican say anything to get elected, sound familiar.

Mitt Romney – if you think we have a mortgage crisis now. think again. If the big 3 goes bankrupt, we wil have quadrupled the mortgage crisis all over the entire United States...Will they then ' bail' the mortgages and bankers AGAIN...This is a 'loan' that the big 3 is asking for...NOT a 'bailout' hand out like the banking/mortgage industry is getting!!!!!!!!!!!!
You live in Michigan...where is your support.........
Here's my solution, Mitt....
Obama should get rid of allllllllll of the politicians (including you) and bring in some new blood. The politicians are what seem to bring the economy down or UP as they see fit.;

Part of me agrees but part of me wonders how it would then affect all the other businesses that supply this industry.

I totally agree with Romney! Now everyone wants to be bailed out...this cannot continue! As soon as the first bailout happened, other companies started crying for money! I haven't seen any of the money start helping the mainstream people yet! Over $700 billion dollars is a lot of money to have given to Polson, but he made sure that he got his cut first, and now he changes the plans midstream! I think that this was a criminal plot that got played out in the face of the American people!

The best crimes are the ones committed in broad daylight! That's what this was, and people should be going to jail right now! I don’t want to see anyone lose their jobs, but if the car industry has not put forth a great effort to build more fuel-efficient cars and take us into the 21st century, then we should not bail them out. They will continue to have us being dependent on foreign oil for gas! No, the bailouts should stop and people need to be held accountable for this money! Where is the transparency?

He doesn't like gays and he doesn't like the American worker.

I think the man must be violating his religion's substance policies if he ever thought he had a chance of becoming President!

Its clear from the above comments that 90% of Americans have no idea what bankruptcy is or what Romney is talking about. Bankruptcy would not mean the end of the automakers in question, but might mean an end to the unions that are sucking them into the abyss. It would involve reorganization and streamlining not disappearance.

Come on everybody, I think we all know how it's really going to play out. We can all say "Oh once they go bankrupt they can restructure and turn themselves around!" That's not going to happen. A car is a very large investment for most people, and they won't buy from a company who could be out of business in a year. I sure wouldn't!

Some people also say that "United went bankrupt and people still bought from them". People will buy an airline ticket because it is a relatively small purchase, and it will be used in a few months. Those buyers do not have to worry about long term sustainability of the company.

Why should the Big 3 be treated any different than any other company trying to compete in today's economy? They need to restructure themselves. My father was a GM worker; I grew up around the auto industry. So I have watched the auto industry these many years. In the 1970s during the fuel crisis, GM did not listen and learn. Americans will always want a big car/truck but we need to have a fuel efficient vehicle for daily drives. The technology has been there but it was ignored for the bigger profits in gas guzzlers. Get a business restructuring attitude. Get rid of the unprofitable products, review current costs then cut the waste and/or renegotiate with vendors, reduce inventory, close old plants, review manufacturing processes, invest in newer technology, cut or eliminate bonuses, reduce salary and hourly wages. I have not hear any of this being done by the auto industry. It is difficult to cut back but if the industry is to sustain itself, work on it now! Don't whine for a bailout if you have not done the work like the rest of us. If you need money, get a loan and pay it back like the rest of us. Tighten your belt and check book. Balance it!

Tax Payers will pay either way! Unfortunately, we will end up paying a heck of a lot more if every business across America affected by this files for bankruptcy too. Millions of American's who lose their jobs because of this may probably file personal bankruptcy as well.

Sure Romney, go ahead and blame the workers. Of course it's the costs of benefits and wages that is crippling the auto industry and not poor decisions by management and excessive executive compensation. Whatever!

Romney is a moron who is so in love with himself he has to figure out some way keep himself in the limelight despite his resounding rejection by the voters. He just goes on trumpeting the same tune more loudly despite the fact that it's off key and out of rhythm.

I feel the same way about Romney as I feel about those No on 8 protestors out in California. You lost. It's over. Now go home.

The big 3 have brought this on themselves. The oil crisis of the 70's didn't teach them a lesson. After 9/11, they should have read the writing on the wall but instead they gave us the Excursion and the Hummer. The goal was to satisfy the Amercian ego and the MIA administration did not hold Detroit accountable.

I agree completely with Mike in Syracuse (for the first time ever!) that all parties have to play a part. The unions have to give something up in order to make sure there are still jobs.

But, Rick, you are wrong. Yes, union costs add to the price sticker but the corporate fat cats in Detroit have a long history of sucking up resources for their own benefit. And yeah, they do have deals that would even make the unions envious.

I would rather have the money that is already set aside to help our economy grow go to an industry that is going to keep Americans working than let it go to an industry that is using it to buy up the competition, take employees on retreats and reward executives with bonuses. Terms can be negotiated, but they need to absolutely start at the top. They are the ones that made the big decisions concerning what cars to make, not upgrading the plants, outsourcing, etc. All these issues should be addressed. When someone borrows money, the lender is the one who sets the terms. More unemployment is not going to help this country.

What about restructuring of the excessive numbers of executives? The very executives whose incompetence made all the bad decisions that ran the auto companies into the ground? What about severely cutting executive pay and benefits? The auto executives flew to Washington on their companies' private jets to ask for money!

Mr Romney is forgetting that these aren't ordinary times...if the rest of the economy wasn't sucking sloughwater, you could let them drown. However under these circumstances, the Big Three going down will have an enormous impact. Parts companies will go under, trucking companies, trains, individual dealers and on and on. It's not just the Big Three who will be impacted!!!! Do you think the US economy can handle the blow? Who will supply parts for the millions of Ford, GM and Chrysler products on the road? What happens to the warranties of these vehicles? Mr. Romney makes it sound so simple – just let the market decide. Well guess what – it's only that simple if you are rich.

Capitialism over socialism. Government – please keep your hands out of everything.

To "Welcome To The Obama Show" -

Listen ignoramous, during the Clinton administration, our nation was the most prosperous it's ever been in recent history. He took a deficit and turned it into a surplus. Why not use the same formula to get the nation out of the toilet it has found itself in today?

If it ain't broke – don't fix it.....get a clue.

It pains me greatly to even consider allowing any of the Big Three to go bankrupt, but if thats what it takes to save this industry, let them go. Restructuring sounds like its the only viable way those bonehead CEO's and unfortunately the union bosses, get their priorities right. I am a dying breed because I simply refuse to buy a foreign car. Gas mileage is never my first consideration when buying a new car or truck. I'm willing to pay my fair share if it comes to keeoing some American workers in jobs and the vehicle fits my needs. The Big Three have always filled my bill, but those CEO's need to be shown the door. I can only hope and pray that these "experts" are right and that restructuring will not cost ANY workers their jobs. Our country is in enough trouble without putting millions of workers in the unemployment lines.

Bankruptcy does not mean the Big 3 fade away. Please learn about the various types of business bankruptcy and read about "reorganization". Donald Trump didn't vanish. United Airlines didn't vanish. Come on folks. Learn before getting scared.

How easy and convenient for our government to forget about the part they played in bankrupting the Big 3 now when they need their help the most.

Wanna save the Big 3? Wanna save 6 million American jobs? First, support American Cars, secondly, support the bailout, thirs support American Automakers by creating and enforcing legitimate import export ratios, and providing tax incentives to the automakers every time you impose new regualtions.

Out a job yet? Keep buying Foreign!

I haven't really heard what the auto makers intend to do differently. What will they do when they burn through the bail out money? Ask for more?
I think it's going to be extremely painful for the whole economy, but they are only forstalling the inevitable by a few months. Rip the band aid off, and let them get to work re-organizing themselves under bankruptcy.

How ironic...He is going to save big business by ripping off the blue collar worker with less wages.

Take from the poor and give to the rich? That is the mantra of the republicans....to give to business and take from us!

What a dispicable human being this creep is!

That $75 an hour is NOT true-it is a canard to make us hate the unions. Most get around $15 an hour plus benefits just like the rest of us do. Benefits are important to everyone-Toyota and other foreign companies have their health care paid for by the government (taxes).
Republicans and big business have been trying to crush the unions forever.
With bankruptcy the fat cats would keep their salaries and perks. The retired people would lose their pensions and health care, just like they did with the airlines.

oh forgot to mention...Does anyone know who taught Japan to make cars? The big 3! So that they could provide better for their countrymen. Guess the Americans forgot that anything made in China is junk.

If you want to bail out Detroit – go buy one of their cars – otherwise shut-up!

Okay, First, America had no problem buying up the SUVs when Bush was allowing them to be a right off. We go into a war and gas goes up, how ironic. All I know, we need to do everything to make sure that these companies do not fail, because if they do, WE WILL ALL DEFINITELY PAY LATER. Second, wages can decrease to non-union wages in America, however, to decrease wage to less developed countries' wages is exploiting the America worker. BMW and Volvo cost are just as high or maybe higher. Ford and GM trucks are a steal, especially now. I could see if they were pricing their products like Mercedes and BMW but they are not. WE ALSO NEED TO STOP BLAMING THE FANNIE MAES, BANKS AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY. BECAUSE THEY ARE A LOT OF AMERICANS WHO USED THEIR HOUSES AS ATMS, CHARGED UP THEIR CREDIT CARDS AND BOUGHT THOSE BIG GAS SUVS!!!! NOW YOU UPSET!!! EVERYONE IS ACCOUNTABLE!!!

What will happen to the retiree's and people that have worked for these companies all their lives. Labor cost is probably less than 5% of the total cost. These advocates for letting them fail are just trying to get even with the UAW whom helped Obama win. The UAW has already had concessions to help lower cost.
I never hear any of the critics say they worry about the workers just smart talk to let the company go under.

My husband has been in the auto industry for 30+ years both with Toyota and GM. He has said for sometime now that GM must change it's business model in order to survive. GM is bleeding money on a daily basis like an artery has been punctured. Throwing a band aid i.e. money is not going to stop the bleeding. We don't want people to loose their jobs or their fat union reps. but people of all industries are loosing their jobs. I would think it might be smart to make a concession as an employee than not be an employee. Maybe Romney is right – it doesn't appear that the other "brain trusts" have been.

Typical Republican – let the little guy bear the brunt. I notice the Republicans jumped at the chance to bail out their cronies in the finanacial markets, though.

Looks like the apple fell so far from the tree, it can't even tell the tree's going up in flames.

Like most of his fellow Republicans, Romney would rather our government bail out the bankers and money-lenders who gave us this crisis, than give a helping hand to anyone who works for a living.

Thank God they aren't in power any more.

LEGALIZE ALL THE UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS IN THIS COUNTRY, THEY ARE WORKING ALREADY ANYWAYS, FINE ALL OF THEM WITH, i DON'T KNOW $3.000, EACH OF THEM, IT'S A LOT OF MONEY, THERE IS THE BAILOUT, AND IT'S NOT COMING FROM THE TAXPAYERS, AND ALL OF THEM WILL START PAYING TAXES, SO, MORE CASH FLOWING
HOW ABOUT THAT?????

100% Agree–should cut the 700 billion dollar "waste spending" in half while were at it.

"The U.S. auto industry right now is uncompetitive. It has high labor cost, health care costs and legacy costs, retiree costs." Mr. Romney has obviously no problem with his own retirement, health insurance and social benefits . He is a very selffish rich man and don't care for the little man. As a good mormon he thinks that the workers have to work for little and shut up. The rich have to be richer, the workers don't need a decent live. The only problem the US auto industry has is it didn't make the curve into the 21st century . But who is it who didn't make the curve? the workers, the employees? No. The most paid individuals in the company, who had to make the right decisions. Instead of thinking "21st century" they continued to build ugly heavy gas guzzler without elegance despite environment and the fact that oil will not be a resource ad infinitum .
Who will pay the bill now? not Mr. Romney and his wrong-decisions-makers... but the little man.
The war costs are also taxpayers money.

Normally I would agree that bankruptcy is the solution. However, there is one important question. How many of you will be will to buy a car from a bankrupt car company?

Think about it. Why would you when you could buy cars from another company. A bankrupt company can't survive if no one buys its product. Because of this, bankruptcy will kill the Big 3.

Romney made millions buying up failing companies and shipping the jobs and parts over seas. So why would he want to save the big three? The big three are not asking for a bailout ala Wall Street (last count 350 billion spent, are things better?); the automotive makers are asking for a loan. Got it? They file bankruptcy, they can't pay anything back. Also, who wants to buy a car from a company that is in bankruptcy? I say we give them the loan, clear out the deadwood from the top down, and get our manufacturing base back to work. Stop building the oversized monstrosities and start doing what Americans do best: building the best d@#$ cars in the world! My Dad spent his working life at a Delco plant in Dayton, he's been a union man all his life, and I'm here to tell you people, it ain't the workers and it ain't the unions making the design decisions. That comes from the corporate/marketing end. Build what the people really want, something safe, something dependable, something they won't have to get a second mortgage on their house to afford the fuel to operate. We're Americans, we're not asking for a hand out, just a level playing field that we can prove ourselves on.

Mitt: You are no longer part of the presidential race, so keep your ideas to yourself.

WANTED: UAW workers to help build automobiles. Must have at least 1 year experience putting nuts and bolts on automobiles. Salary starts at 60,000 per year.

And people wonder why they are going backrupt ?

The main problem the Big 3 has is not wages although some of the longer term employees are grandfathered into very high wage levels. It's the huge cost of paying benifits to retireed employees. Many of the foreign car builders with plants in the US pay very comparable wages to union ones its just that the company has a whole lot less obligation to retired employees than Detroit does. It's similar to the airlines issue. Legacy carriers paid health benefits and pensions to retired personal until they died where companies such as Southwest pay very good wages but have less retire burden due to the fact that they offer a great 401K plan but no real pension.

Notice the flip flop,he still the liar he always was.

I dont hear anything from the unions. the UAW have a stake in this. They are the ones that held the big three to ransom demanding top wages and benefits for poor performance,poor work standards and poor products. you have reached the bottomless cash pitt. You will now pay your DUES to society. Hasta la vista baby

PS......McDonalds are hiring,go there,unionize them so we can pay $12 for a Big Mac

WWJD, What Would Japan Do? They would shut down a failing Nissen and Toyota, execute the careers of all executives, and flood the companies with new executive leadership and talent.

WWAD, What Will America Do? It will inject $100 billion into the companies and watch them go bankrupt after spending that money to help their senior management pay for more 17 year old European hookers.

Chapter 11 doesn't mean shutting the doors people.

It will FORCE them to clean house, restructure the entire business, get rid of the ungodly union negotiations (who the heck is negotiating for GM to have such bloated pensions and benefits?), and transform to a profitable new age business. Sure some people will get laid off as underperforming units get shut down, but they should have been shut down years ago.

There is funding available under chapter 11. If the loans aren't given, THEN AND ONLY THEN, should the govt fund these loans.

Any loan outside of chapter 11 is only delaying the inevitable and flushing more tax payer money down the toilet.

Romney is right on this one. Proping up bad businesses is ...bad business.

I have a better idea ... why don't we bail us all out by firing all the politicians. A bankrupt American auto company is not a win-win situation and definitely not an option. Just give the Big 3 the $25 billion loan it needs to stay afloat through 2009. I think GM and Ford are on the road to recovery. The quality of Ford cars can compare with the best like Toyota and Honda. GM is definitely getting there, and the new Chevy Volt will revolutionalize the auto industry. At least give them the chance to prove they can succeed.

How about we put a tariff on inported cars like they do to ours in other countries. That will make out vehicles more competative with the imports.

Finally. A bit of sense on the Hill; has any one of you, making comments, researched and actually SEEN what the workers make in the big 3 factories? A high school diploma or GED will get you anywhere from $30-$43 per hour, plus awesome life/medical/ retirement benefits. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND PAYS THAT KIND OF MONEY???? that's more than most college-educated people make. that's more than our educators make! So...here's my take: meet with the big 3, meet with the UAW and make concessions, negotatiate ALL salaries, including custodials all the up thru the CEO, in order to keep the factories open and prevent work from heading South. Everyone should make sacrifices. If you want to keep your job, take a lesser pay and stream-lined benefits, then plan a definite timeline to revisit the issue when the economy returns to the positive. Bailing out is just being a "helicopter parent" and doesn't help anyone at all, it shows a lack of leadership on both sides and leaves the taxpayer with the bill. Negotiation and compromise.

Holy smokes, wasn't this the guy that beat McCain during the Michigan primaries because he was really hamming it up for the auto workers and auto manufacturers?

McCain offered a bit of his "straight talk," saying that "There are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan," and proposing federal job training plans and other remedies to compensate. Romney seized on McCain's statement as overly pessimistic and promoted instead his family heritage — "[I've] got the automobile industry in my blood veins!"

Talk about a two-faced slimebag!

If the big 3 go everyone better take a look around and see how the USA will crumble. NO jobs, NO money, NO nothing. The American companies made what everyone wanted...SUV size vehicles. We responded to that, now we have to turn around and do it again. Also they aren't asking for a bailout they want a loan. But the american people only listen to what they want to hear, why don't you people go talk to someone from AIG and ask how they enjoyed there weekends lately....oh thats right they got bailout money, while the Big 3 are asking for a LOAN.

Didn't Romney and his dad run a US automaker into bankruptcy and ruin? Can you say "sour grapes?" Thought you could.

And let possibly 5 million other jobs go with it. How enlightened he is. We saw what the collapse of the steel industry did to the rust belt cities of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. It was devastating. It still hasn't recovered over the past 25 years. Yes, the auto industry made alot of mistakes, but the poor economy was not their fault. They are just going to be the next big looser in the evergoing crisis started by deregulation which was the act of the Republican party. It's not over yet folks. We are as close to being in a depression as Bush is to leaving the Whitehouse.

Let the Big 3 file – I don't agree with the bail-out or Bridge Loan they are asking for. If it takes redesigning dies I am sure companies in China, Korea or anywhere overseas can design, produce and manufacture automotive tooling dies. It will be done cheaper than in North America – hopefully this will translate into more affordable autos. I was at the Autoshow in Detroit (2007) the foreign companies were showing their small fuel efficient cars (Yaris, Fit) 1.5 ltr engines while GM had the 400 plus horsepower Corvette, Chrysler had the HEMI and Dodge Charger SRT. What were they thinking? Let them go broke.

Why has no one addressed the millions of stockholders and mutual fund owners potential loss of BILLIONS of dollars if thses companies decide to "refinance their business model" by ccancelling thier stock to issue new.
What a horrible situation that is allowed in our bankruptcy laws. The lowest on the totem pole that funded their business in the beginning are just ignored and cancelled, wiped out. They should NOT be allowed to do that.

Is Romney so clueless that he does not realize that by letting these 3 companies fail that it will leave tens if not hundreds of thousands of people unemployed??

You know if this was just about the executives and not about the people beneath them then I would agree, but you're talking about the people that work under the executives at corporate (secretaries, etc ..), the people who make the cars, the people who sell the cars and the other people at the dealerships and the part suppliers.

Does he not get that???

Romney is a moron. Heaven help us if this man is ever elected President.

We can't afford to bailout every industry that comes calling – particularly when those industries refuse to make the hard decisions that are necessary to make their companies profitable again. At the same time, we can't afford the human toll that allowing the Big 3 to fail will cost. So – if they want a loan that cannot be reneged on (if they go bankrupt anyway), Congress should consider it.

But first, we get Congress involved in their actual management of the companies – cut management by 80% – if we are trying to keep jobs for manufacturing we don't need VP to the VP of the VP to the Director... they could lose something in the range of 30% of their costs if you first tackle the fatcat problem. Then the unions MUST make concessions. No dumping useless management, no union concessions – no loans. Let THEM be responsible for the fallout to the rest of the industry...

I am not in favor of letting the Big 3 go down. The executives made major errors; however, they are not the ones who will pay the price for them. Letting the Big 3 go down could possibly lead to the next Great Depression. I am for helping out the Big 3, but requiring them to change the way they make their products and do business. They need to make products to last as long as and perform as well as the Japanese. The Big 3 can do it. The greed of the executives must go.

I forgot to mention that Governor Romney is absolutely right about fixing the big three. Change is also going to be painful, but necessary. Thanks!

I agree with Romney on the fact that the companies need to be overhauled, but I don't agree with letting them go bankrupt. However, there needs to be conditions on which the money is loaned. Detailed plans for recovery and new leaders/management in the company is necessary.

Did anyone even read the article from the NY times? He suggested eliminating the jets, private suites, executive pay, etc. Cuts at ALL levels. Same thing the federal government needs to do. What a waste of tax payer money.

Let the Fed. stop subsidizing and bailing out everything?? Farmers , tobacco ec. etc. etc. . It seems like the Fed.'s pime objecive is to break unions. At the exspense of the Ameican tax payer and the economy. The republicans should be proud. Because the objective is anti-union they do not care what it does to this country.

"Think before you act, and this time, try to have a little insight into what the overall outcome will be..."

is this message for Obama or the Detroit Three????

So if we keep bailing out big business, where does it end? I can sort of understand why we bailed out banks, but the automotive industry? Will we bail out retail next? Of course not. Fact is, the Big 3 are are failing because of their refusal to look ahead. They've been too busy looking at the "cool" factor and kowtowing to big oil.

Answer me this: would a worker rather have a job, or a $1 or 2 more an hour? This is a primary example of where unions, who are supposed to speak for the people who pay the dues, not only failed, but contributed to this crisis.

Romney is, of course, right. Those of you calling upon me (or any taxpayer, not the 40% of you who pay no income taxes) to pay Detroit for decades of atrocious management and the bullying tactics of the United Auto Workers are out of your minds.

I am finding it so hard to understand why a large number of individuals want the Big 3 to go under/bankrupt. Don't they understand that if the Big 3 goes under that Americans will not be involved in the manufacturing of cars/trucks that we will be buying cars from other countries. If the Big 3 goes bankrupt Millions of retired employees and current employess will lose their health insurance and pensions. That a large number of these retirees are under the age of 65 and cannot get medicare/medicaide – Wake up people we cannot allow this to be. These individuals worked long and hard for 30+ years and should not have to worry about how they will finanically deal without an income

Everyone is crowing about labor costs, specifically health care plans, being at the heart of the problem. Has it occurred to anyone what would alleviate this problem? Hint: it's all the rage and considered a basic human right in every other modern, developed country.

I believe the big three has come face to face with reality. Competing against better build, fuel efficient foreign vehicles and the high cost of fuel, has been contributed to this industry melt down. In addition the labor unions demands on excesssive higher pay, and unreasonable unemplyoment benefits, definitly is the icing on the cake to this failing industry of ours.
Were are the labor unions now. It is time for them to offer something back.
The major car manufactures of this country should do a complete restructure of the car industry. 1 Build better quality vehicles. compared or even better than foreing cars. 2 A new labor contract. A national cap on pay. New employee retirment plan. 3 Possible elimination of labor union.

HEY OBAMA SUPPORTERS,

YOUR MESSIAH IS PICKING ALL THE CLINTON PEOPLE FOR HIS STAFF. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHANGE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT?

LOOKS LIKE TO ME THAT THE CLINTONS WON THIS ELECTION AFTER ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!

FUNNY HOW OBAMA WON IN THE EYES OF THE COUNTRY BUT THE ACTIONS REFLECT THE CLINTON MACHINE IS BACK TO RUNNING THIS COUNTRY.

I THINK THE CLINTON MACHINE WILL RUN THIS COUNTRY AND OBAMA WILL SIGN WHATEVER THEY OFFER AND GIVE HIS SPEECHES TO KEEP THE OBAMA SUPPORTERS HAPPY!!!

Another guy just like Bush. Their base (and I quote) is "the haves and the have mores."
What a joke our government "of and for the people" is!

The BIG 3 needs to go hat in hand to the BIG 3 Oil producers and request a bailout! They've been in lock-step for so many years it would stand to reason this is the most practical alternative! With the Oil companies record profits where will they be if the automakers go under. I believe the Oil companies is obligated to bail out the automakers!

Romney nipped Detroit on the bud. The exec's flew to Washington in lear jets costing $20,000 per round trip. And they begged like the dogs they are for a bailout. I really am sick of the old American way of doing things just like millions of other American born patriots. You can't continue down the same path of irresponsible destructive corporate shanannagans. Once we put these bozo executives out on the streets just like the true American that has had the door shut on them from money hording banks, then we can all play on a level field.

Mitt,

Can you stop the hypocrisy? Didn't this election teach the GOP anything? People are tired of politicians lying, say anything to get elected and do nothing once they get in office. I know it was easy for you to say that they needed to restructure when you were running for office, now that the conservatives are talking about reducing the role of government, now you want to let Detroit sink. It appears you have no principle.

To Kpawlak: Your right. It doesn't matter what people think, however, I would love to hear your view on the whole situation?

Average hourly salary and benefits for UAW workers in Michigan $74/hr. Average in non-union US auto plants $45. $45/hr is not bad for putting on lug nuts.

Wow – for once I agree with Mitt )

Education and HealthCare have to be taken care of before we can solve problems like this for the long term.

Unions are needed but if it's used just for protection of workers and not requiring workers to get more education, the whole union and their employer will go belly up with time and that's what we see today.

Healthcare is one big factor in total costs against global competition, as we, a democratic country, cannot force the people to buy American cars only. We must lower healthcare costs. Yes, we like to have choices, but it costs more and we are facing having it or not. Pharmaceuticals will have to survive by pushing out more innovative products, not copycat products. They have to cut down marketing expenses, which don't help with innovative products. Merck is doing just that. However, innovative products can only come from a good education for the potential or current workers. Unfortunately, education always ends up the last item on the agenda of each debate or any must-do list. I hope President-elect can see our needs in the long term and fix our education. Thanks!

Some of the aforementioned comments are just plain ridiculous. If the Big Three committ bankruptcy, it doesn't mean they are completely screwed, they just have to restart their business plan. It would pave the way for small-businesses and NEW automakers to enter the industry. THEY will be the ones buying the materials. It doesn't have anything to do with being a part of the BIG THREE, it has to do with SUPPLY AND DEMAND.

Anyways, Ron Paul would've suggested letting all those giant bailout-leeching companies go down the tube, so it's not like this is any new idea. Good job Mitt, you figured out the correct plan of action, now let's just putting partisanship aside to reform this corrupted economy!

Why is it, I wonder, that everybody who wants to let these companies go bankrupt offers no concrete suggestion as to how to protect peoples' jobs? If Detroit wants a loan, they should be required to give up a good deal of control to government. How much more evidence do we need that greed wins out over sustainability every single time when big business is left entirely to its own devices?

This guy loves to put his golden foot in his mouth,what a low life.

This guy is any idot, the real solution to this problem is simple make a competitive cars, invest in fast train cars like the rest of europe, which take more cars off the road but still provide those hard working employees, more opportunities to built fast trains. Long time ago this auto companies took out most of the rail road so that they can built more big car without the foresight what will happen in the near future well here it is. Look at Japan with there technology they have fast train, which was built by auto companies and still dominate the world technology need to be leader and not asking for goverment loan. It is time American wake up..socialist or not you decide.

For everyone criticizing Romney on this opinion, there are plenty on both sides that agree with him.

Amazing how everyone can bash CEO's, here's a fact – if a CEO had the sweetheart deals the unions have extorted, you all would be yelling at the top of your self-righteous lungs.

Yeah, unions were good – a long time ago. They've become self-centered. They keep raising the bar until the automakers can't afford to make cars because the union imposed costs become too much. Then they have the gall to turn around and blame CEOs? Get real. Unions need to be knocked down off their perches and back into the real world. But they've got their hands in the Dems pockets, so we'll never see that.

Get used to it people – same thing's gonna happen when Obama decides all the small – medium sized businesses need to start being patriotic and raise their taxes, forcing them to close shop.

Maybe the community organizer thing will come in handy. After 3 years of the Obama/Pelosi/Reid carnival of idiots, a lot more places in America will look like the south side of Chicago.

Hope you're proud.

Niiice, Mitt, nice...how about all the folks who will be (if they haven't already been) plunged to poverty level when they lose their jobs...hungry kids, all that...but as long as you have your money, I guess you think it's all good. Sad.

bailout the auto industry, we pay taxes too, if they don;t this govt. will be paying our [the retirees pension and benefits], that's alot more than the 25 billion they want, it's the economy STUPID

Tired of W, OH November 19th, 2008 11:56 am ET

"This is what it's come down to? The only way for the American auto industry to compete is to lower our workers' salary and benefits to that of other, less developed nations? That may be true, but those wages aren't enough to live on in the U.S. I think the key is in retooling the U.S. auto industry for the next generation of alternative energy cars so that we can lead the world again instead of playing catch-up."

You dont need to lower workers salary to that of less developed countries, how about just to the level of non-union auto manufacturing plants in this country. They seem to be doing ok.

The big 3 problems are bad management,to much benefits for UAW, let them file bankruptcy, they will be a better company for it.

I might feel the same way if I didn't have faces to put to the news stories. I have so many friends who are affected, either directly or indirectly, to the auto industry in Detroit, and knowing that they are in pain hurts. Perhaps a bailout, per se, isn't the way to go, but something needs to be done to ensure that over 3 million more jobs aren't lost, and that workers' quality of life isn't affected even more than it currently is.

This isn't just the car industry, it's the people working for the car industry. And no, not the ridiculously rewarded CEOs who are concerned about whether they'll be able to afford that new villa in Tuscany that they've been eying.

The labor guys should see the writing on the wall and agree to come to the table with major concessions unless they want to see the Big 3 crash and burn. If the competition can make it on much less, everyone around the table should be willing to compromise. Less is better than none. Times have changed and it's time to smell the coffee if they want to stay on the band wagon.

As a member of a union we have been taking paycuts for the last eight years paying much higher health cost. The wonderful rich, our execs salaries have risen sky high. Also, these people do not pay for their health cost, retirement, or anything else. They contributed 50% to our so call 401K. At the beginning of the year, we were informed that they would not contribute anything. So Mitt Romney close your big fat rich mouth. Hopefully, you will never become president.

The Government needs to let the three auto industries "re-structure" and try to help themselves first before considering a bailout. They need to become "more competetive." The auto industry cannot continue to do business with yesterdays business models and practices. Romeny is right on target on this.

why isn't anyone talking about the total effect and cost of bankruptcy?
Hard earned pensions will be lost or reduced. Health care benefits lost. Vendors left holding worthless receivables, many to be forced to layoff.
The federal PBGC group will have another burden. No matter what happens, the taxpayers will be forced to carry a burden.

So Mitt, old buddy, let's see what this masterplan of yours is going to accomplish. The big three closes their doors and lays off all their people. The companies that build and supply the materials to build those autos have to shut down too, or change all their dyes to create a new business. Now what about the dealerships throughout the nation that will be forced into bankruptcy because they won't be getting anything new and people just won't by from a bankrupt company. This is just the start. More will be affectied than just the big three if they are forced to close their doors. Think before you act, and this time, try to have a little insight into what the overall outcome will be.

Maybe Romney is right. Maybe not. But what bothers me is the almost universal knee jerk reaction. Doesn't this crisis require sometime to analyze the problem and weigh the consequences of both sides of the argument? With a few exceptions, conservatives reflexively say "let them go bankrupt" while representatives from Michigan think giving tax payer money away to bail these companies out is absolutely necessary. It doesn't seem like much thought has been given on either side.

I'm a democrat. I can barely stand Romney. But you know what? He's right.

Like California, the American and World economies have gone up in flames and are not likely to burn out without consuming everything in it's path. Meanwhile, the president and congress continue to fiddle.

The automakers are asking for a "loan"; not to be "bailed out'". The monies will be paid back.

Romney has changed the "tune and lyrics" to the song he sang on his FAILED presidential bid. LOL – he even won that state in the primaries.

This isn't a choice between paying Asian wages and benefits to detroit workers or not. Toyota employes nearly 40,000 people in the US building cars using mostly American made parts. Toyota is still making a profit. They do that by building cars Americans want to buy, and paying wages and benefits that are reasonable but still less than the $75/hr the Big 3 pays. Same with Honda. The unions and bad management have killed the the Big 3. They need to overhaul themselves and that can best be done through bankruptcy. The unions need to ask themselves if they want to stick with $75/hr and lose half the jobs, or go to $40/hr and keep the jobs.

Eventually, we will all have to go to Mexico to get jobs.

A few months ago the CEO of GM was on TV bragging about how great things were going, now they aren't so great! My first thought was yeah bail the Big 3 out but now the more I listen and learn about these companies I am not so sure. This is a crisis that all sides must carefully review before making any decision.

Why is it the tax payers duty to bail out the auto workers who, bye the way, make a lot more money than I do! If Washington decides to bailout the auto makers it would be nothing more than payback for the UAW and they'll be back for more in another few months. Let them go into Chapter 11 and bust those union contracts. Auto industry wages need to be more in line with the rest of the American economy.

Sorry to all you auto worker employees. You knew this was coming for years and have had plenty of time to educate yourselves for another line of work. Stop whining and come with a plan B for yourselves.

Before we talk about bringing U.S. autoworker salaries and benefits in line with other countries, we should ask whether those other countries use child labor, allow their workers to be exposed to toxins, offer any kind of protection against the ravages of working in a harsh factory environment, or demand that their industries protect the common air, water, and land that we all rely on.

If you want our auto companies to pay its workers third-world salaries, just make the U.S. a third world country.

He's right about one thing, these companies do need to be restructured and be able to compete with foreign companies...but who is going to force them to do that? Are they just going to take it upon themselves to restructure and remain competitive, or are they going to declare bankrupcy, take their millions and run, turning Michigan into Sub-Saharan Africa on the way?

There was a short period of time, CNN, when you posted all comments, whether they agreed or disagreed with your beliefs.
Now you are back to strigent moderating, or eliminating comments
immediately. So much for freedom of speech.
MSNBC, thankfully gives us all a say.
Course, they are not as pro right as CNN.

Ummm, it's not the workers' faults. If you let them go belly up another 10% of the total U.S. work force will be out of work. People are so busy belly aching about the execs and Union management that they forgot about the workers. What did they do to deserve this mess? If it were any of your jobs hanging in the balance you all would probably not be so nonchalant about businesses going into bankruptcy. I thank G'd that my family is not in the position of those jilted workers.

BINGO! Mitt hits the nail on the head.

Enough of this socialist wave where the incompetent gov't has a hand in everything.

NO SOCIALISM IN THE US!

FILE CHAPTER 11. THAT WOULD BE THE BEST THING FOR ALL 3 AUTO COMPANIES.

IF THEY BAIL THEM OUT EVERYONE ELSE WILL BE IN LINE!!!!!!!!!

The reality is that the foreign automakers make their cars in the US and do it at a profit. The big difference is that they move to non-union states. I read in the wsj that an extra $1200 is added to every GM vehicle's price tag due to the UAW's health benefits alone. Even if they trended towards hybrids, they still couldn't make money as they fundamentally operate at a loss. The best hope for the big 3 is to file for chapter 11, reorganize by ending the union contracts (which you can do after you file for chapter 11), shut down a large chunk of the dealerships and start as a smaller, tighter run organizations. I wish them luck and hope they can survive this mess but until the core issues are resolved, the "loan" will just delay the inevitable by a few months.

took him long enough to gauge the prevailing winds coming from the RNC. Typical Romney. But dont worry, his mind will change soon enough.....

SO, GM is in toruble because of labor costs? you dont think it has to do with the fact that they build cars people dont want to buy????

once again the Republicans take the side of Big Business, yet come election time they wrap themselves around a flag and dont fail to pander to the working man. Just disgusting– you guys got what you deserved

I agree with him 100%. NO MORE BAILOUTS.

At some point, rewarding mismanagement with my tax money HAS to stop.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blame it on the workers. Show me a broken down old auto plant worker who's probably got chronic lung ailments from exposure to toxic fumes, who's probably lost or at least mangled a finger or two along the way, who's lost 60% of his hearing because the plant didn't provide earplugs, and who's got two bad knees from standing on concrete nine hours a day–show me a retired autoworker and I'll show you a lazy fat cat who doesn't know what it is to worry and whose biggest concern each day is whether to get a pedicure and which tie to wear.

Of course that fat cat isn't the autoworker, it's Mitt Romney.

Obama PLEASE listen to this guy, it makes perfect sense.. it doesnt matter whether we give these fools 25billion or 250billion they will be back on the hill begging for more in a year. They want to gouge the tax payers money on one hand while making gas gouging cars on the other.

WHile I feel bad for the townfolk around these plants, you have to wonder why these towns put all their eggs in one basket. This is just like the towns around military bases going under when BRAC closes a base. What ever happened to diversification? The bailout was meant for financial institutions, whether you agree with the bailout or not, that was what it was meant for. Now these auto industries saw free money being handed out, so they got in line.It was announced today that a timeshare company and a Bait&Tackle store applied for bailout money too.... Where does it end? If people stopped eating fast food becuase it's too fattening, should we bail them out too? We need to protect the makers of the pickles, the beef producers, the ketchup company, where does it end? Detroit is hurting because they make cars noone wants. Sure that Silverado that holds 10 people and gets 12 miles a gallon sure looked good 10 years sgo. Now that little prius looks better and better. Ford could have made a prius, if they invested in technology, retooled, gauged customer demands as well as the foreign companies, them maybe they would be competitive. Instead, they let the UAW run the company, let their CEO make millions, and continued making sub-par gas guzzlers. Bankruptcy doesn't mean going out of business. Let them go bankrupt, resize, retool, re-organize, cap wages, raise the health care premium, and then try to be a little more competitive. We do this bailout and let them keep going the way they are, they will be back begging for more money in 5 years.

If the automakers and their huge network of suppliers and dealerships go down, this country will slip into a depression that could last for decades. It's clearly not just a Detroit problem. And it doesn't matter anymore if you like their products or not. Washington has to get past that and just do what is necessary to save millions of jobs across this country. Just how many more hits can the U.S. economy take?

I remember several years ago when all the geniuses in Washington were saying we don't need manufacturing because the service industries would carry us. I wonder what those same geniuses are saying now with all the bank failures, Citi Group cutting 50,000 jobs, DHL laying off 9,500 etc, etc, and the list just goes on and on.

Most of the people commenting on this story have no idea what they are talking about as usual. Do you really think anybody cares what you think or that your uneducated opinions matter?

This is what it's come down to? The only way for the American auto industry to compete is to lower our workers' salary and benefits to that of other, less developed nations? That may be true, but those wages aren't enough to live on in the U.S. I think the key is in retooling the U.S. auto industry for the next generation of alternative energy cars so that we can lead the world again instead of playing catch-up.

The unions should be forced to make a few sacrifices, too. They should require more accountability from their workers and adopt a more realistic pay scale. I used to be union, so I've seen how it works. The janitor serves an important purpose, but he shouldn't be making as much money as an engineer.

I agree, we should let them go broke and start a new company with no union just like the Japanese and Germans. Let all those workers that have 30 or more years of service in hang and swing in the wind. But to be fair, lets start over every ten years so no one gets any benefits and is always climbing the ladder just to get the bottom cut off. THE GOP will love that, 5% would own everything and the bottom 95% would be slaves. Good idea.

Add jobs and save the Auto industry by destroying unions and decent wages.

Thanks Mitt. I forgot the working man is to blame for our economy.

He didn't have the guts to tell these ideas to the people of Detroit or Michigan while he was running for president.
He's just another politician speaking out of both sides of his mouth...like Rudy Guiliana, Joe Lieberman, John McCain, etc.
They need to come up with new ideas and new people to lead their party...also stop the slime and hate filled rhethoric they spew.
I have no respect for any of them.

Romney is right. With their inferior product and the UAW bleeding them dry, the auto industry is better off filing for bankruptcy. Otherwise they are going to need another bail out next quarter.

I agree!!!!!!!!!!!! Why should we bail out a PENSION plan, thist is what they want us to do. How many reading this is making $70.00 per hour or more? Not I..... . The Unions are greedy, and if the Dem. let this bill go by, where you have to agree to having a UNION without close ballot. God Help ths country.... This is just the beginning of what the Liberal Democratas want to do to our freedonm.. Not to mention to take away Talk Radio..., Our Religion, Our Guns. Where does it stop????

Spoken like a true idiot.

If we do bail out the Big Three there need to be strings attached. They need to use some of the money to retool their factories the make cars that are in market demand right now. The American Automotive Industry would be competitive if they offered what people are looking for right now. Romney, however, probably does not realize that there are people who still drive and will buy cars. I am guessing that he does not drive himself around.

Irresponsible!

Let Detroit goes caboom, but let's fund the wars of opportumnities costing billions weekly. Typical repubs logic. An attempt needs to made to save Detroit before letting it goes bust.

Great! But now I'd ask all Americans how they feel about the ,"New World Order",(globalization),and all the fine things it has brought to our table? Sure, I'll take a lower salary if the utility companies lower rates, the banks lower my interest/principle,and refinance/renegotiate my mortgage/rent payments lower. Theres a litany of request I'm willing to propose ,like plumbers/electricians who charge 50% less, without city/state beuaracy nichol,dime-ing them to death, never mind having all my insurances cut in half, yea I,ll work for less......,oh did I forget to mention health care ?

"must negotiate new labor agreements to match the lower wages and benifeits of foreign competitors" hmmm What about CEO pay and benifits??? If an american CEO could adjust to the lower payscale of a foreign CEO,maybe, it's not the cost of labor that has killed the american car industry it is the cost of managment...how much is enough? Have the hyper-wealthy had there day???

Although they must be keep the car manufactures viable, the inherent problems need to be fixed, such as the lack of vision. Change over the top management, retire the old Execs and take away their huge bonuses and, yes, renegotiate the labor agreements. As is, the labor agreements result in people being much better paid than their skills warrant compared, not just to other countries, but to other US jobs. Labor unions severed a valid purpose, at one time long ago, due to abuse of the labor market by greedy owners. Now the labor unions are much of the problem.

SPOT ON!
The government (i.e. WE the people) cannot continue to bail out every failing, inept, poorly run company just because they need us to. As long as there are no consequnces to poor labor agreements and mismanaged corporations, this fiscal irresponsibility will continue and multiply.

Mr. Romney, yours is the first commentary that makes sense. We can't give them money to carry on business as usual. They need to re-structure their whole way of operating. If it takes banruptcy to force them to do it, then so be it. Only after they demonstrate the initiative to change and be on the way to being competitive and fiscally responsible do we offer a loan to continue the progress. Right on!

Keep biting the hands that fed you once in public Mr. Romney, just keep doing it...
Let's face it, if Detroit goes bankrupt then you CAN count on seeing bread & soup lines in the streets again. The US automotive industry isn't just big, it is a very important part of the US economy! It needs to be restructured? Fine, force a viable, fair and eficient restructuring along with the financial help that they are needing. Punish those who kept raising their beneficts and bonus while the sales went down and under. Act and make something! Just don't let not 'just' a town go bankrupt, but a whole section of the economy and the day-to-day 'ordinary' life of millions of Americans...

How typical of a Republican. If Detroit goes bankrupt hundreds of thousands of American workers will loose their jobs. Certainly the big three have to make fundamental changes, but throwing the baby out with the bath water isn't the solution.

Why do Republicans want to bail out fat cats on Wall Street but care nothing about the manufacturing sector. I think they have always viewed American workers as the enemy. They are opposed to minimum wage laws and hold unions in contempt. They only seem to care about the "have mores", not the rest of us. They have led the charge to de-industrialize the United States. Our country has been sold on an international garage sale. It is time to stop the bleeding.

I am so glad Obama will be our next President and can't wait for him to take residence in the White House.

Gee, Romney said one thing during a campaign and something entirely different later?

Why is anyone surprised about that?

Says the millionaire whose family won't be thrown into the street when these companies go under...

Romney is a hypocrite, telling the people of Michigan one thing while running for president, and now doing his partisan dance and extolling the mantra of his party.

double standard

Mitt can sit back in his mansion and say that bankruptcy is the answer, that the companies will figure out a way to come back, and all will be wonderful. Meanwhile, those of us dependant on the auto industry (either directly or indirectly) will find jobs harder to come by, feeding and clothing children impossible, and a depression knocking at the door. I believe we've heard this once before- Marie Antionette, upon hearing that the people had no bread to eat, uttered the immortal "Let them eat cake".

Romney's right, it's time for the Detroit dinosaurs to become extinct and make room for more economically fit successors.

Yes, Mitt, yes. It's the wage of the worker bees that is too high. The management compensation is juuuuuuust right. Especially when you consider the reward they are due for continuing to make vehicles that folks stopped buying.

Tell ya what, Mitt. Why don't you get your management buddies to take a cut in pay, say 33%?, because they so stubbornly clung to a bad marketing strategy, roll that money into a design/retooling/re-engineering effort, and include those idle workers in that effort? I'm sure they would love to have a hand in saving their jobs and their company.

Wouldn't you, guys?

Stop all the bailouts NOW! If this is such a bad idea for the Auto industry, what is the difference in the bailing out of AIG, Goldman Sachs, etc...? the answer is no difference. The bailouts have done nothing to help main street, only the very rich are benifiting, everyone else has been simplified, or will loose their job. Or is scared of loosing their job, A dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust...etc.. Blah blah blah
Let's face it America the Governemnt can do nothing and will do nothing to help main street, nethier will our free press. have you seen the increase in hunger this winter, this bailout money should be going in feeding the starving.

Instead of asking the auto companies to lower all their wages to be competitve with foreign suppliers and thereby lowing the employee standard of living; we should put a tariff on in coming goods to bring them up to a comparable level with U.S. costs and give the Us industry a fighting chance. The auto companies do need to restructure the industry and re-write UAW contracts; but to expect them to be able to compete in the environment our lawmakers have set for them with current trade agreements is as big or bigger a problem than poor or outdated management in the industry.

Let the rich man decide on how to truly crumble the American economy! It's just not as simple as that Mitt! Nice try though.
If you let the big three go bankrupt, you dig an even greater hole to climb out of. Would look good for your plans to run for the presidency in 2012, as likely no government could recover from an even graver situation than the one it's already facing.

I agree. No way should the taxpayers help out the autocompanies when it's there own fault they are in this mess.

New labor agreements to match the lower wages and benefits of foreign competitors? Yep, foreign competitors is a synonym for third world countries, so let's pay Americans third world wages and give them reduced benefits (who needs a 401(k) or health insurance). Romney is rich, so he doesn't give a rat's patootie about the average American worker. Bankruptcy will cause the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and will cost millions of dollars each year just for the courts to handle the bankruptcy cases. Each case should take three years. Romney, you're an idiot and I'm glad you didn't make it past the primaries.

I've got a sneaking suspicion as to why Republicans are willing to let the automakers go under. Their collapse won't hurt the big executives – they'll still depart with millions in loot. But if the auto companies go down, so does the UAW. Republicans would like nothing better than to bust an organization that has been one of Democrats' most committed and effective allies for decades.

For a minute there I actually almost agreed with Romney... The "Big 3" should be required to meet certain standards before any money changes hands. Those who fail to do so determine their own fate.

We should help them but not without conditions. They need to offer up a plan on how they will restructure to give us what we need...fuel effiecient cars.

idiot .....clearly does not live in Detroit

I never thought I would say this but Mitt is right 100%. The elephant in the room of the congress hearings is that there canot be a solution to the problems of our Auto Industry unless the oppressive labor costs are brought in line with those of foreign manufacturers. The unbearable labor contracts imposed by the UAW must be terminated. This is critical if we're going to have a vibrant auto industry. There's too much at stake to continue playing the UAW game.

let them go under, so you can ditch any labor contracts that paid workers a decent wage eh Mitt? That's why you GOP rank and file are so willing to let the Big 3 fall apart isn't it?

You hate labor...labor is tied to the auto industry...let the auto industry fail...put millions of Americans out of work...make them so desperate to get any kind of job that they have to take whatever wages you offer...you get to kill labor unions in the process.

Republicans make me sick with how greedy they are.

Wow! As a Democrat, I never thought I'd agree with Romney on much of anything, but kudos to the former governor on this one.

When was the last time anybody paid YOU to stay home? The union rep at the hearing whining because the employees might have to rely on Medicare like the rest of us – soooo sad. Poor babies.

If you didn't watch the hearing yesterday as I did, I'm sure you can find it on C-Span 1 or 2 sometime this week.

My bet – you'll end up agreeing with Romney.

Put these dinosaurs out of OUR misery – make them work FOR America! They can be great manufacturing engines again.

In other words, "screw the workers." Let them bear the entire cost of failure, even though aren't the ones responsible for the problem. The big three's biggest problem is not the cost of the car, but the fact that they can't sell the cars they are making because management refused to make the cars the world wants. The biggest cost difference between the US and other countries is health care. In the other countries health care is paid for by the governement, therefore, allow car manufactors an unfair advance in costs. Wake up people.

More union busting from the "stormin' mormon".

I have to agree. GM was at the forefront of automotive technology with the EV-1, they buckled under preasure from Big Oil and killed the project. Soon after, Toyota released the first Prius. Now, GM has the Chevy Volt, basically a re-designed and upgraded EV-1 but that's not scheduled for release until 2010.

GM had their chance, along with Ford and Chrysler. The "Big 3" had no problem creating gas-sucking SUV's over the past 10 years and knew there was potential for failure, but were to addicted to the cash they were reaping from the huge profits that their SUV lineups were bringing in.

Hopefully innovative car companies can emerge from this, such as Tesla motors and possibly others that have actually taken notice of the future of the automobile.

Unless they are ready to remove the UAW from the equation, the big 3 need to burn. I rather not give them 25 billion only to have them go bankrupt anyway in a year.

this is the first time i have agreed with anything this guy has to say....

LET THE BIG THREE GO BROKE... IF THE CONGRESS GIVES IN TO THEIR DEMANDS ,,,,,,,,, THEY WILL BE BACK AND ASK FOR MORE.......LET THEME CLEAN UP THEIR PROBLEMS AT HOME FIRST.... UNION LEADERS.... CEOS.... HIGH WAGES.... LET THEM PAY FOR PART OF THEIR INSURANCE LIKE THE REST OF AMERICANS DO....

let the big three make consessions like the rubber companies did before thay moved to MEXICO....

You should know better, but your eyes are on 2012 and you are still pandering to the Republican base.
First, its not a bailout its a loan to survive.
Your Republican Party is on the verge of fading into obscurity with their opposition to loaning the auto industry the money they need to continue.
With the tenuous shape of our economy, the failing of the auto industry will be the straw that breaks the camel's back, and plunge us into a Depression that will be worse than the Great Depression of the Thirties.
Bye, Bye The Republican Party.

Amen, amen, and amen!!!!

Yeah, and look at where AMC went after the 1950's.

If you want to buy a new hybrid vehicle there is a three month waiting period. Why can't the US auto industry adapt to the current market needs like every other successful business? I'm sure the workers don't care if they are making hybrids or gas guzzlers as long as they can work and support their families.

Of course he would say that. He probably feels that the auto-workers are all Democrats. We should only bail-out the republicans on Wall Street.

To h*ll with the american workers

This is the problem with capitalism and corporate America. "Let's cut the wages and benefits of workers so they can match those in another country!!" What about their standard of living here? Why don't we address what executives make, such as what I'm sure Romney's father made. Did you know GM's CEO, Rick Wagoner, makes more than all of the top execs at Toyota combined? But we never address that end of the spectrum. And incase anyone forgot, AMC went under....George Romney obviously didn't do anything worthwhile.

I'm a Democrat but agree with the Republicans on this one – let the automakers file for bankruptcy.

The taxpayers can't help everyone who gets in line (it's already stretched out too far). What about us, the little people??

Let's first make sure the banks are lending to common folks to secure car loans and pay mortgages. Then we can take care of big business.

And let's put a FREEZE on the bail out money. It's only going to help AIG throw lavish parties.

While Detroit does have a lot of reorganizing and transforming to do, Romney's "let them go bankrupt" stance is typically callous Republican. A Motown bankruptcy would hurt many, many related industries and push Michigan into a near third-world state. Such cruel and simplistic lack of concern for millions of workers is a perfect reason why the Republicans won't be controlling the White House or Congress for at least the next 8-12 years, and why they should disappear altogether!

This is ridiculuos, you pretended to be good and concerned when you wanted to be elected.But since you lost ,you want people" workers" to feel the verdict. It gonna be a disaster let alone the autoworkers but also connected jobs.
Think thrice Romney. You are not a trueman.

Those who want the Auto Industry to bankrupt want to break the union contracts, sellout retiree benefits, eliminate health benefits (Walmart method to have workers go on medicaid) and reduce their cost but at the same time still charge big bucks for cars.

Thanks John McCain I'm glad you won the GOP primaries and not this guy. I wonder if he was the President elect will he still feel the same. 3 million+ out of work and maybe a few states may go under too.

This is ridiculuos, you pretended to be good and concerned when you wanted to be elected.But since you lost ,you want people" workers" to feel the verdict. It gonna be a disaster let alone the autoworkers but also connected jobs.
Think thrice Romney. You are not a trueman.

Well Mitt you have the money...so guess you can weather the storm that would happen with the failure. There are way too many jobs in this coun try related to the industry.
Perhaps they should be nationalized and made into one company..that produces fuel efficent cars, and hybrids.
The Unions and the fact that a large number of Americans had to have big SUV's and the auto companies did not have the b–ls to say no. They are paying for their short sightedness and the fact that they were so powerful in Congress to keep getting fuel mileage standards lowered.
They are paying for it, if there is money given to them it had better be as a loan, with strings on gas mileage, and payback first before anyone else. With strong government oversight.
Of course we have no oversight over the treasuries use of the "bail out" money.
Perhaps Obama should appoint Mitt as the auto industry czar.

Why not let Toyota and Honda buy the Big Three up, retool their factories and keep Americans employeed? Hey, the Big Three stocks are a bargain basement prices right now!

I couldn't agree more.
It's about time our large corporations (whose investors been enjoying remarkable dividends by the way) begin to rationally manage their businesses.

This year alone: insurance, banking have been adopted by the taxpayer. As the economy falters will the taxpayers also pick up the tab for other industries :automotive, transportation,municipal governments, postal service, telecom, real estate, retail chains-when will it end?

Now.

It's easy for a rich person to make comments like this and not give a thought to the people who will be out of work. Maybe Mr. Romney should have the opportunity to walk in those peoples shoes who will be struggling to survive without a job.

Simply appalling... It's bad enough that he doesn't deem it worthwhile to aid a failing sector of America's industrial base that happens to be a cornerstone of our economy, he has the unmitigated to gall to say so after pledging to do exactly that while campaiging in the state during the primaries.

He will lose supports by doing this....
He never realized that many hardworking people and supporting industries are affected by The Big 3.

Yes, from now until 2012, let's dedicate to cleaning the houses of every company in America to make it better and more robust and produce more jobs and growth. America, now is the time to clean!!! For the next four years, it's all about CLEANING for a better health!! Get the brooms, mop and Lysol ready!!!

One side of me says let them fail, but the other says they need help. I think they should go through a structred bankrupucy, re-origanize the company for the future. But with that said they should have seen this comming for sometime and they did NOTHING. Still made the big gas guzzlers and did not plan for hte future!

Mitt, no longer the candidate, has decided to let Detroit go up in flames eh? Instead of letting the perception of bankruptcy cloud the land, bringing more economic uncertainty into an already unstable situation, can we do what you propose without the “B” word? Even better Mitt, you are throwing money around at Minnesota and Georgia for these candidates, why don’t you put American First like your dad did in the 1950s and step in and fix Detroit? If you know how to do it, we need all hands on deck dear sir. Be a hero, not a zilch.

shut up you washed up wanna be president. nobody cares what you have to say. you should be polishing up on your lies for your next run for dog catcher or something.

So, does this mean a reduction in food, health care and fuel costs with the lower wages?

maybe if they would have let some of their private jets go, maybe we wouldn't be in this horrible mess. i say no bailout. should people take their money out of vanguard??

Look, just let Obama pick his own team. You can be a donkey or an elephant, but in the end, Obama is Obama and he still needs to make the tough decisions and calls. He is his own MAN. So dont be afraid if he picks a bunch of Clintonites. He needs to hit the ground running and he needs some stability. Once he's used to turning the door knobs, I have faith, he'll unleash Obamania v2.0

I tell you what, the GOP definitely is going bankrupt! LOL!!!

If it will take long for the GOP to recover, I'm sure the auto industry will as well. Let's just say that they deserve it! LOL!!!

I agree!

Not a Romney fan, but agree 100%!

Because millions of Americans without jobs is ok. right?

Shut the hell up, Romney.