Unemployment keeps rising and we're bailing out all the big stuff. What are your views and opinions on this? Please, hold nothing back.

When you throw money that doesn't exist at economic problems in a free-market that needs to level itself from gross overextension you're only delaying the inevitable and/or ultimately making things worse. What shocks me is that this has been building for the last 10 years and only this year do masses seem to realize it because of the culminating effects. As for my job situation, I do not think Borders Books & Music will make it another year, at least the store I'm at. They're pulling in 1/2 of what they need, and more than 10% less than last year, which is quite huge when an amazing day is $10k during the holiday season. They also seem to have the same corporate mismanagement, making the same mistakes that Sharper Image had... and they're completely gone.

I think it's telling that Congress kissed the asses of the wall Streeters and AIG when they came to Washington, but but treated the Car company execs like crap.
Dodd especially strikes me as a hypocrit when he was in a leading position (him and Frank) towarn us this was about to go down.
http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/ ... -to-c.html

But that aside i would let them all go bankrupt and declare Chapter 11.Then they can reorganize and cut their own deals with their unions and supliers.
Look at the airlines.There are a few that declared , struck deals with their unions and are still flying.
Revision, you are right. You can't pay for what you can't afford. The government either prints more money(wish I could do that) or borrows it from China(!!)

If our financial sector goes under, the whole world will be hurting. If our car companies go under, we'll buy Japanese like we have been for who knows how long.

the US car industry has been *censored* for quite awhile. stop throwing money at an old car.

Actually the car companies had been gettingh better with a few models.
But I heard a great idea on the radio yesterday.
Instead of the Government giving the automakers $15,000,000,000 they should just buy 15 Billion worth of cars from them and replace all the givernment cars with brand new GM's/Chrysler/Fords.
They can then sell (this part is my idea)the older cars at auctions on the cheap to used car lots with the provision they not mark them up more than 10%.
That way everyone wins. Lower Middle class people get better,less wasteful used cars Government workers get newer less wasteful NEW cars, and the car companies and their suppliers actually get to work for their bailout.

Wow, that is an excellent idea! Wonder if a congress person was listening to that radio broadcast and then the auto industry would be okay and would've worked for their bail out.

While I do like this idea, the only problem with it is that the $15-billion can be seen as temporary pure profit (plus that long-term loan stuff), whereas purchasing $15-billion worth of cars factors in all costs for material, production, and labor. It amounts to a smaller percentage of profit in the end, so having less of an impact.

I suggest investing in land and taking up small-scale agriculture if you have the means, whatever happens. =)

Igf they do that and also allow the car companies to import small cars to help them meet the CAFE standards for a year or 2 it might be enough.

Sure, but the economic downturn started last December with the housing market. Need to solve that problem to.

Also, what about AIG needing some cash? I think they're stifling money from the government thus making them an Enron 2.

Well to update these old posts, we are now in debt to China so deep we will be paying the INTEREST on the loan after I am dead!
Yay Obama!

I can't blame Obama. It was a crappy situation he got thrown into. Do I wish it were fixed? Of course, but at this point one can only hope for the best. And for anyone superstitious out there, no need to worry! By the end of 2012, it won't matter anyway!

I just feel like Obama went the wrong way.
He used the economic issues to push his statist views.
I know he kind of inherited some problems but raising our foreign debt ten-fold was NOT the way to fix anything.
He should have broken up the banks,and lowered taxes across the board.

Lower taxes across the board when we are already deep in debt?

That's the problem with thinking that you can cut taxes as well as pay down debt and pay for expensive programs like war surges and health care reform.

Taxes is a dirty word, apparantly.

I'm not sure how people think that a 800 billion dollar sweeping health care reform can be paid for while simultaneously lowering taxes and not cutting spending or funding to other federally funded programs.

That is what will happen. They will "lower" taxes to appease the masses, then silently cut more money from funds for our already failing educational system. It is bad enough children don't have recess, gym, health class, art and music studies, and creative learning because they are too busy teaching them to pass an MCAS. You wonder why our children are getting fatter every day while falling behind our peers in other countries where education is more than passing a standardized test.

Sad part is, I feel all this and I'm a dang Democrat.