The automakers pay through the teeth
Several years ago, I worked for a dental maintenance organization that supplied the UAW with their dental program. This covered all three of the Detroit domestic automakers. The plan was the only one my company provided that covered nearly 100% of every dental service. This meant that the UAW workers in the Big 3 had nearly complete coverage; which cost the automakers a fortune.
Out of the hundreds of other companies that were customers of my DMO, none had plans that were considered so ‘rich,’ to use industry vernacular. That’s because none of the other companies could spare that much of their budget to pay for dental benefits.
Why do the Detroit automakers need a bailout? Why indeed.
The internet is abuzz over the latest bailout news
A reading of what is being discussed about the bailout might be in order. The discussion is mostly focused on the competing factions for bailout funds, the auto industry’s merits as a candidate for bailout funds and whether or not Paulson should go. Last week the topics included the lack of oversight of the bailout and the question of executive compensation.
Over at MarketWatch, the debate is about the auto industry bailout (here). FoxNews carries and AP story about the debate in congress over the bailout of the car makers (here). Reuters features a story about what average Americans think about the auto maker bailout (here). And the viewpoint from the Middle East (here).
A little additional perspective from bloggers; The Becker-Posner blog weighs in with a historical viewpoint (here). Felix Salmon at Portfolio.com considers bankruptcy vs. bailout for GM. Democracy Project calls for Paulson’s ouster (here). Distilling Finance suggests auctioning the Big3 to automakers across the sea. (here).
The argument rages on and most likely will for weeks to come. At some point, people will forget what the original intent of the bailout was, as the whole thing gets dragged through the muck.
November 20th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
If General Motors was in so much trouble how come they had hundreds of their employees vacationing at Woodloch Pines in the Poconos last weekend. I work at the resort and was pissed off to see it.
So they should get bailed out so they can continue to waste money!
It’s true, check it out yourself. Woodloch is also not a cheap resort to stay at.