>>>>>http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081212/bs_nm/us_madoff_arrest
>>>>
>>>>Perhaps the Ponzi scheme should be given a new name?
>>>
>>>Or switch to more consumer friendly names - stock market or real-estate market - same things.
>>
>>Did I miss huge thread here when they passed second bailout ? (800B) Or it is no longer even newsworthy...
>>This 50b in 'ponzies' is peanuts comparing to 'stuff' that is being floated.
>
>The auto companies (big 3) bailout failed late last night...One of the main issues was the UAW refused to lower workers salaries in line with Honda and Toyota which the Senate wanted as a part of the deal.

Yes, that was one of the issues. But there has been a lot of misinformation going around about that. You keep hearing the figure of $73 an hour and that is a bogus number. It's accurate from an accounting POV if you calculate labor costs a certain way, but it isn't what UAW workers make. $16 an hour of it consists of pension and other payments to RETIRED auto workers, spread across the number of current workers. It is not money the current workers receive. The true compensation rate is about $48/hour. That is still higher than what Honda and Toyota workers make, and if you want to say the UAW should agree to that rate then I will agree with you. But it obscures the real problems. The real problems are long term poor strategic decisions and poor quality. Those will not be solved with a cash infusion. It will only postpone the inevitable if Detroit doesn't change fundamentally.

The part that really gets my goat is that most of the discussion remains about the "big 3," including Chrysler. They are an entirely different entity than GM or Ford. For one thing they are much worse off, with few solid brands. What bothers me more is they are owned by Cerberus Partners, a private investment group that is secretive but by all reports extremely successful. Let's see them put some money in before taxpayers are asked to. They've got the money, they just want us to pick up the tab instead. As Gov. Blagojevich said so memorably, [expletive] them ;-)