Tom Daschle

[Winter_123]

Employer sponsored health plans are going to become fewer and fewer, with the economy. The big guys at GM used to go around saying they are not really a car company- but rather a healthcare provider for their employees, and they can't figure out how to pay for it.

There is of course some truth to that. In fact that is the way that the dems will end out marketing some of this. They will take up the argument that the healthcare/insurance cost places an undue burden on the ability of business to compete domestically and internationally. $1400 of the cost of every GM car goes to health insurance- a cost that the non-unionized or the Japanese do not have.

Again, whether we agree or disagree does not change the arguments on the immediate horizon. The conservative mind thinks "gee, we have just spent a pantload on bailouts, so that will pretty much kill health reform." The lib mind thinks "gee, we have money for trumped up wars and bailouts for Wall Street, so it is about time we spent some money on health care." Disagree as we may, the reality is that the Sandinistas are in power now so the likelihood of their view prevailing is excellent.

It's coming. It wont be universal, single payor, government run health care but it will show the impact of socialist, pinko meddling bigtime and it will be devastating to the independent business over time.

 

[HomeService]

$1400 per car sounds low to me, for healthcare for all those union employees, all the benefits for the big wheel execs, all the retired folks, all the folks on cobra, all the moms and people with family leave and disabled folks....$1400 seems low to me. Maybe it's not too low when you average it out over all the millions of cars produced, but when you consider production will be for sure going down...

 

[Winter_123]

$1400 per car sounds low to me, for healthcare for all those union employees, all the benefits for the big wheel execs, all the retired folks, all the folks on cobra, all the moms and people with family leave and disabled folks....$1400 seems low to me. Maybe it's not too low when you average it out over all the millions of cars produced, but when you consider production will be for sure going down...

The GM situation is a mixed bag. The dems want you to see all the money going to the execs but want you to close the other eye so you dont see the forklift operator making 104,000. Truth is, it is Fat City all the way round. In addition to their failure to manage expenses, their sense of the market is dismal compared to the Germans and the Japanese over the years. Why is the government supposed to be holding up cue cards and incentives to provide higher mileage cars when the Germans and the Japanese figured that was just part of being competitive?

We will have a good electric car at some point but it will come out of Silicon Valley rather than Detroit. Different mindset, labor force, and strategic sense.

 

[Guest]

They already have good electric cars. Aside from the list below, my fave is a dealer in Ohio that will electrify a Saturn Sky, total price comes out to about $65 or $70 and that's one hot car!

30 electric cars companies ready to take over the road » VentureBeat

AMP Motorworks - (Advanced Mechanical Products) -The 100 percent electric car

We will have a good electric car at some point but it will come out of Silicon Valley rather than Detroit. Different mindset, labor force, and strategic sense.