nativetexan Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 I've had a thought running around in my head and would like to hear some opinions because I don't know all of the facts yet and haven't organized them enough to see if they fall within the guidelines of American principles. You know, the original one's. With all of this taxpayer money bailing out industry, that would mean that the American public should have some stake in this whole mess. If you ask me, instead of just settling for a bailout and being happy that we have jobs, why shouldn't we get some sort of kickback from the profits of these companies until their debts are settled? Even if it was just on principle? Obviously, the government had a few billion just laying around to bail out these companies, so that tells me we are obviously overtaxed, and the captains of industry are certainly happy for it. But there is a whole lot of variables here in this thought that I haven't taken into account yet, so I am curious for your inputs. Another thing has crossed my mind is that these companies and their dealing should all become a matter of public record, and covered under the FOIA. I'm not talking about a shareholders report either. I'm talking internal... I know this is borderline being a proponent of government run industry, but really my thought process is more like if you need the American public to bail you out, then to some extent, you should be forthright with your dealings so the public knows what is being done with their money. Until the debt is settled and after that, you can go on your merry way of mismanagement. I would rather get a check each month from the automakers, bankers, etc. than an empty check from the government that attempts to make either political party look good. What say you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 i don't believe for a moment that the government is doing a bailout. i think they (we) are taking over the businesses. within 4 years, the government and the unions will own detroit. they will own the banks. and they will take over and run everything they can. socialism is the word, and obama has told us he wants to socialize america. all he's doing now is what he said in october he wanted to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Obviously, the government had a few billion just laying around to bail out these companies, so that tells me we are obviously overtaxed, and the captains of industry are certainly happy for it. But there is a whole lot of variables here in this thought that I haven't taken into account yet, so I am curious for your inputs. Don't think so. That just means that they knew that they were going to raise taxes on someone or borrow from somewhere else. As far as getting a payment from those who are getting this money, I think those companies need to payback every dime to the government for them to paydown on our loans rather than letting the government attempt to redistribute that. I have a very bad feeling about how their redistribution would possibly go. I do not support the government taking over those businesses either and I do not support the idea of salary caps, however I also do not believe that execs should be awarding themselves insane bonuses when the companies they are managing are taking losses. A true shame we do not have more execs in these industries like Lee Iacocca. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 BHO responded yesterday to a question asked by a reporter if socialism was on its way. He originally refused to answer the question and ignored the reporter. he ended his press conference and then I guess he got some advice from his staff and re convened the press conference to answer the socialism question. He said the Gov't is making moves consistent with capitalism and we are NOT headed towards a socialist society. What planet is this guy from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowJoe Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 One piece of advice you might want to consider whenever you start thinking government is a reasonable entity. No money ever comes from government without first going through the hands of government. Even while earning money, it was printed in a government building and ultimately came from the government. Nothing ever leaves without costing you and me in some way. All of this "Bailout" crap is simply a filter for our taxes to make it into the hands of the royal politicians. "Silly", you say, but take a look at who was gung ho for all of these bailouts and look at who is on the list of most lobby'd politicians from these same companies. There's your answer. Face it, those in office now are looked at and act like royalty in jolly old England. King Hussein has taken court and I'm afraid their's a new minority in America. No, it's not the Conservative, White, Male, it's the Conservative, White, Female. They're a lot more rare because alot of them have fallen for the Dapper Dictator in D.C. too. Our only hope is not in electing more Republicans into office next year, but electing more true conservatives into office and that means eliminating these pseudo conservatives that all you need to do to get them to switch to the other side is ask them to change seats because the one they have is much more cushionny. I feel better now that I got that out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKYhunter Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 Good posts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 Everytime I try to post a reply, my thoughts go a hundred directions and I can't finish one before I am thinking of the next one. All I can say for sure is that "there is no cure for stupid", and the stupid epidemic is here for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggs Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) i don't believe for a moment that the government is doing a bailout. i think they (we) are taking over the businesses. within 4 years, the government and the unions will own detroit. they will own the banks. and they will take over and run everything they can. socialism is the word, and obama has told us he wants to socialize america. all he's doing now is what he said in october he wanted to do. It was only a few months ago that BUSHgave out the first Federal bailout, Steve. Let's not forget that. What you're all missing here, is if the US Government didn't bail them out, a foreign company and/or Government could have easily stepped in and bought them out...China already owns so many US dollars it's a frightening thought. I think that thought has more to do with the bailout process than the evil Obama and his Muslim agenda trying to convert our economic system from Capitalism to Socialism. Native, love your thoughts. Just for your FYI though, every company is required by the Federal Government to make their financial statements availiable to the public- so,essentially you can view their dealings. My original thought from the time Bush started this whole bailout trend was that every American citizen who could verify full-time employment and the fact they had a mortgage should have received their own bailout money. Think about it. If the Fed was to give you $200,000.00 what would you do? The first thing I would do would be to pay off my mortgage- as I'm sure 95% of responsible people would do as well. That influx of money would have settled the mortgage industry's problems and also allowed people to get new loans in the coming years so the industry wouldn't lose out on their amortitized interest over time. I would also pay off my truck note- which would also put me in a position to purchase a new vehicle a lot sooner. Others would pay off debt, and spend some of it which would boost the economy. Capitalism is a consumer driven system. So, by giving the money to the consumer it would drive the economy. Also, giving all these billions to companies who have already mismanaged their own funds seems sort of silly. Of course, Bush did a lot of silly things and it appears Obama plans to carrry the torch. That said, if you haven't figure out by now that the Government doesn't have your best interest in mind- you should do that ASAP. They're fixing to do one thing, and that's to take you for all your worth. Edited March 12, 2009 by muggs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gzilla45 Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Even if the corporations that took bailout money were to pay back some of it, there is no way that the government would use it to pay off debt. They would use it to advance their political agendas thus funding more socialist programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativetexan Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 All the more reason to challenge the status quo. I'm afraid to say it, but its happening because we are letting it happen. Muggs, I'm not stupid. In my original post I mentioned "other than a prospectus." Which is all that companies are required to give to the general public. I'm talking about true internal documents showing where the money is going....However, like many others here believe, it is only in a perfect world for such things to exist. Or is it? Definitely some socialistic thoughts going on there, but socialism is long term, permanent government control. I'm talking for the time that taxpayer dollars are being used to bail out big business. Would that be socialism? Or would it be being a watchdog over government/corporate spending? Either way, I know that none of this will happen as the government will not just readily hand over this stuff, nor will corporations. Even if required by law. I might be a little more forgiving should these industries make it public knowledge that the entire population will be rewarded for bailing their butts out. Such as reduced prices on cars, or other consumer goods. Now with that last statement, we could assume that the government would be "for" such an idea, but we all know what happens when we assume. This whole thing has opened (and given me a complimentary membership) to the vicious circle of thought that absolutely none of this makes any sense. It's sort of like a choose your own adventure book with no real ending, and each choice will ultimately lead you back to the beginning. Only to start all over again. The best thing to do is follow the advice of some of the smartest minds out there and push for a reboot and back to basics approach to our problems. Not sit back and enjoy the complacency of not having to worry about more than what is right in front of you, because the Messiah says "every little ting, gon be alright." This country is facing an enemy more dangerous than any situation all of the terrorist organizations in the world combined could come up with and deploy. That enemy is ourselves. If we are to keep ourselves from exploding, we must first keep ourselves from imploding. All we are doing is making the enemy's job easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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