The Most BRILLIANT Idea Yet On The Bailout! Should The Oil Companies Foot The Loans To Help The Auto Industry?

The best thing I could pull out of this idea is that oil companies should be forced to buy battery packs that they then lease to consumers for use in electric vehicles.

In terms of the way the idea was originally presented: I think that it is a HORRIBLE IDEA.

You have to think in terms of economic responsibility. The truth is, you can't have a society where everybody is buying a new car every two years. Cars are meant to be durable goods. The manufacturers overshot on capacity, now they are paying the price.

If anything, the oil companies should have to foot loans to the solar, wind, and geothermal industries, areas where we will actually see growth.

— GreenPlease (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 4:15:58 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 7   

001,

I don't think this is "Brilliant", neither oil companies. I think oil companies could not care less of PR or public perception.

But I will tell you this, please keep taking those awsome picture of nice cars and ladies with big beautiful... eyes. Screw cars, those chicks are hot.

— vladyxa (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 4:16:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Further, you can't have an economy that functions on the following premises:

1. Build homes
2. Sell said houses to each other
3. Sell sandwiches and coffee to each other
4. Borrow against said houses to subsidize the purchase of cars and electronics

It doesn't work! The party is over! The U.S. is going to have to lower its QOL, except less $/hour, and actually manufacture stuff and sell it to the rest of the world!

— GreenPlease (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 4:18:28 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Hell no. Even if the failing 3 recieve the loan and still go under they will target the people to recoup their losses.

— veyron1001 (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 4:23:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Why should they?

— M53R (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 4:29:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

you know what.....im freaking tired of this subject....politicians will do whatever they want to do and we dont have any say in it whatsoever....so lets discuss something positive.......like holiday gifts for $50 or less for car lovers.

— skippee (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 4:29:49 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

i actually first heard this idea last week from believe it or not from ashton kutcher when he was on real time with bill maher.

— t_sotello (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 4:34:53 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

yes. and that feet dragging and stinginess is especially UNCONSCIONABLE considering the billions they made in profits!

many of the claimants will likely DIE before exxon gets around to coughing up.

— XYZZ (View Profile)

Posted on 11/23/2008 7:29:59 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

die of OLD AGE

— XYZZ (View Profile)

Posted on 11/23/2008 7:32:17 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

The Big 3 are under pressure to produce cars that consume less oil and are more environmentally friendly. There is no reason the oil companies would invest in the future of car companies that are aggressively seeking to lower the oil companies profits. You may as well ask Greenpeace or PETA to bail them out.

— formula666 (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 5:32:04 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Sorry, but the press would be all over this as a "cynical ploy" by the oil companies and if Bush/Cheyney had anything to do with helping it happen, can you imagine the press outrage. Chris Matthews would blow an aorta if he had to mention oil co's/Bush/Cheyney in the same sentence again. That would blow any chance of him ever popping a woody again when his new girlfriend (Obama) was sworn into office.

Interesting idea, however. Bottom line is a bankruptcy re-org (with a merger) is about the only thing that MIGHT save the US Automakers. The rest of the US would still help out as we will be forced to pay the pensions of all the overpaid UAW'ers as they offload those obligations to the PBG Corp.

— cktoo (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 7:10:58 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Yea the oil companies bail them out we"ll never cut the foreign oil addiction.

— Bighead255 (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 8:26:15 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

No no and more no, We cannot bargain with failure. As of right now GM is tryin to find the loophole in the 700 billion dollars bailout. Trying to convert themselve into a banking institution yet they only own a portion of GMAC. Just as Chrysler sold off their lending arms. FMC is still own by Ford but who is to say when they will follow suit.

— shiftless (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 8:35:13 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

You won't believe this, but I first heard this idea from Ashton Kutcher when he was on Bill Maher earlier this week (11/18 - Real Time with Bill Maher).

— runbuh (View Profile)

Posted on 11/21/2008 8:51:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

I say no, but they could be charged to path the roads and maintain traffic lights, signs, and etc.

— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 11/22/2008 2:27:31 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

me on another thread. much more apropos here...


neutral:
"...This will in-turn make my taxes lower, and will add to the services that the government should fund (roads, schools, military, etc)

"The fact that so many Americans are so against our own industry really has me shaken as to how dumb Americans can really be (although lets face it, we did elect George Bush... twice)."


yes, many americans ARE dumb. not all, but enuff to have allowed bush and cheney to get away with STEALING not just one, but two elections.

i won't argue anymore about this (past) uaw greed and big3 incompetence anymore. both WERE BIG factors, and are still having a hangover effect. i also won't argue about the virtue, or not, of a $25B loan. or even $50b or $100.

i just ask you guys to compare it to the $1,500,000,000,000 we've pumped down the bottomless pit of Dubya's wars! and the stupidity of buying the lies that these wars were "for democracy." nope. it was for guaranteed access to OIL.

so blame puppets Bush and Cheney, and the Big Oilys who not only pulled the strings, but raked in RECORD, BANK BUSTING PROFITS. (oh yeah, halliburton, boeing, and other war profiteers raked it in too.)

— XYZZ (View Profile)

Posted on 11/24/2008 6:57:22 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

A FANTASTIC IDEA!

— david23 (View Profile)

Posted on 11/27/2008 2:50:45 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1