Posts about the economy and GM...

[fad1]

:flag1: "Keep the Faith"

[GMRULZ]

Well Said

[kdbolt70]

Very well said.

I'm a newbie here, but not a newbie to GM. My father has dedicated nearly 40 years of his life to this company, and it has put food on my table since I was born. I owe my livelihood to the work of GM and the enthusiasts like you.

My father feels very much the same way as you do, fbodyfather. Its passionate employees like you that will keep this company chugging, long after market analysts have written them off. I take pride in knowing that my dad had a hand in every GM vehicle that rolls down the street.

Wow, getting misty eyed over this stuff. Its really great to see all the support for the hometown car company, I'm glad others have a sense of pride in this country.

Thank you.

[fastball]

Scott, that was a fantastic post.

I agree with everything you said. I agree we need serious change with our politicians, not some campaign tagline or slogan. And not just in Washington either.

Is it me, or are many of our representatives completely dumbfounded with how to handle serious matters and how to govern through rough times? Ask anyone if they think things would change very much with anyone new in positions of power, and I think most people would tell you no. No matter what side of the political fence you live on, I think everyone agrees neither side is capable of righting our ship.

CEOs take the money and run? Prosecute the hell out of them, liquidate all of their personal assets, and return them to the employees and stock holders of the company (ever see the movie "Fun With Dick and Jane"?)

I want the names and pictures of the a%&#()*s who pressured banks to take on sub prime loans to be plastered across the front page of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today.

These jerks from AIG going on a vacation WITH THE BAIL OUT FUNDS should be hanged in public by their gold neclaces.

I completely understand the basic fundamentals of capitolism, and to make laws preventing the CEO of a corporation from earning what the company board and shareholders vote for them is not in the spirit of capitolism.

Neither is milking the profits dry at the same time testifying in front of Congress that the company's assets are strong and have sufficient funds.

So, what can we do besides vote for someone new, who may or may not be any different that what we already have?

They all seem to say alot without really saying much at all. True spirit of politics!

I'm all ears..... what can we do besides vote? What can we do? I'm going to vote, you bet your sweet bippie I'm voting on Nov. 4th. But what will that bring? A whole new same old story?

[FenwickHockey65]

Well said Scott.

GM will be just fine. We've had hard times before, people have predicted the doom of GM over and over and over again, they've said that toyota would pass us in sales and become the world's largest automaker, they said that GM would go out of business, but has it happened yet? No.

Not to mention all the awesome new products we have hitting dealer lots in the next few years...Camaro, Volt, LaCrosse, Cruze, Terrain, SRX, Equinox, 9-4x, CTS Coupe/Wagon...every time I see spy photos of any of these cars, I know GM is going to be perfectly fine.

[rlg3]

I agree with almost everything you have said, with the exception of why healthcare cost so much. A couple of facts for several years run the cost of lawsuits in my state of Illinois and across the nation have been going down there has been tort reform and the cost of insurance for doctors continues to skyrocket. Why?

The insurance companies are taking advantage of the current political climate and our letting the media and others blame lawyers for this when in fact there are less dollars being spent on medical lawsuits. But the insurance companies continue to charge doctors more and more even though their(insurance companies) cost go down. The insurance companies have a greed problem and it will get worse the more wall street suffers

Second cost go up because the goal of drug companies has changed from curing disease to finding meds to let you survive if you take it everyday for the rest of your life. Why? Because a cure doesn't make as much money as meds you have to take everyday for the rest of your life.



Finally, I know this is the Father's thread but it should be moved to the political thread.:respekt

Rising doctors' premiums not due to lawsuit awards

Study suggests insurers raise rates to make up for investment declines



Re-igniting the medical malpractice overhaul debate, a new study by Dartmouth College researchers suggests that huge jury awards and financial settlements for injured patients have not caused the explosive increase in doctors' insurance premiums.

The researchers said a more likely explanation for the escalation is that malpractice insurance companies have raised doctors' premiums to compensate for falling investment returns.

The Dartmouth economists studied actual payments made to patients between 1991 and 2003, the results of which were published yesterday in the journal Health Affairs. Some previous studies have examined jury awards, which often are reduced after trial to comply with doctors' insurance coverage maximums or because the plaintiff settles for less money to avoid an appeal. Researchers found that payments grew an average of 4 percent annually during the years covered by the study, or 52 percent overall since 1991, but only 1.6 percent a year since 2000. The increases are roughly equivalent to the overall rise in healthcare costs, said Amitabh Chandra, lead author and an assistant professor of economics at the New Hampshire college…

Meanwhile, malpractice insurance premiums for internists, general surgeons, and obstetricians have skyrocketed since 2000, jumping 20 to 25 percent in 2002 alone…

''It's not payments that's causing this," Chandra said. ''The simple explanation that comes to mind is the underwriting cycle. If they're making less money from the investment side of things, it's going to cause [insurance companies] to raise rates."

The study's conclusions are sure to generate praise from some malpractice lawyers and outrage from many doctors and insurance company executives, who argue that jury awards are out of control and the solution is a cap on noneconomic damages for plaintiffs, commonly referred to as ''pain and suffering" awards.

Insurance companies invest your premiums in the stock market, what do you think happens when the market goes down they raise premiums, they are going to go up some more but its not due to lawsuits......You going to trust them, have you heard of AIG??????????

[headpunter]

Scott Settlemire for President? anyone else feeling that way?

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by headpunter

Scott Settlemire for President? anyone else feeling that way?

+1.

[Mr Twisty]

Well put.

For anyone living under a rock lately, he's correct in this...Stock prices are falling in the free world, not just GM. I sold some turkeys at a loss just to free up cash to buy into blue chips. GM will be getting my financial support as well as G.E. and others. I don't care if they drop further, I have confidence we will recover, and be stronger from the lessons learned. Carpe diem.

You left one thing out, God bless America...again...and God bless our soldiers...You guys n gals ROCK!

[2010_5thgen]

great speach. i just want to let you know im going to do what i can to keep gm on their feet and im buying a new camaro and im buying stock in them.

oh by the way fords stocks are almost 2.00 a share. and they say gm is in trouble?

[CWI]

Scott:cl ap:

G M

[lol what]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

WE -- that's you and me - have a RESPONSIBILITY to get ourselves to the polls on Tuesday, November 4 -- and vote RESPONSIBLY --

By 'responsibly' -- I mean none of this 'straight ticket' stuff - YOU NEED TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK -- and you need to be paying attention to where ALL candidates stand on a variety of issues. YOU NEED to look at the claims being made -- and you need to do your homework to see that some are outlandish...........and you need to understand that EVERYTHING comes with a price...........

You can't give much better advice than that. Shame that so many people don't heed it.

I don't work for the auto industry and I'm not a politician, but I'm fairly certain the problems faced by Ford and GM are not the fault of Washington, or CAFE, or Honda, or even Toyota.

It's going to take a long time for the US auto industry to regain the ground they've lost, as general public opinion has slumped due to the overall quality of the product that was put forward in the '80s and '90s.

I think the global RWD platform is the exception that proves the point. People are excited about cars like the G8 and Camaro because they're a sign that better things are to come. Unlike the fleet of 30MPG+ Daewoos with Chevrolet badges out there, these are cars built on GM engineering in GM factories with GM money, and they're a reason to look forward to the future.

Ford is in a similar situation as they begin to pull their resources and bring in higher quality models from the European markets, but the road ahead is a long one for both companies, to be sure.

[stovt001]

Sir, you are my hero and if I wasn't 21 I would emancipate myself and ask you to adopt me.

First, concerning your comments on Canada and the Canadian people, I think if everyone knew a Canadian, we'd all be a lot happier. They're just the coolest people, and they're making our Camaro which makes them even more awesome. Canada is certainly on my shortlist of countries I'd be willing to relocate to. (Former British colonies make up most of that list as my foreign language skills are nothing to brag about).

Concerning straight-ticket voting, I believe that is exactly why George Washington disliked the idea of political parties so much. When we identify ourselves with a certain group, we tend to forget the real issues and instead focus only on "us versus them". I find myself doing that often, and even though I agree with my party on most issues, there are some things on their platform I sharply disagree with. I'd love to see the 3rd parties strengthen and actually challenge our two party structure.

For the GM execs, I have to congratulate them. Yes, the company is in trouble, but I think there are very few companies who could start out in as weak a position GM was in when the turnaround started, face down the insanely challenging market GM faces today, and last as long as GM did. You have to give them credit for that.

On healthcare, well if you think Canadian healthcare has problems, go live in England. I studied in England for a term, and one of my friends came down with the worst cough you've ever heard. She eventually went to the National Health Service clinic, and when she walked in they would only ask what medicine she would like prescribed. They refused to actually examine her or give their opinion. Also while I was there a study came out showing a large percentage of Brits pulled their own teeth because they couldn't find a dentist and a man was denied his cancer medication because he didn't live in the proper postal code area. Now that's scary.

Finally, in regards to product, let me tell you when I get worried about GM going bankrupt, I start making a list of what I will get if I can't get my Camaro. I like all the cars on my list, and they're all critically regarded as being among the best cars enthusiasts like me could hope to afford, but not one of them checks off all the boxes the way the Camaro does. For an enthusiast looking for an affordable RWD coupe that can go, stop, and turn, all while looking sexy and sounding mean, there is really no other option.

[fbodfather]

RLG3 -- I'm sorry - this wasn't meant to become a political statement.

I received several emails that stated real concern over the threads that talked about GM going bankrupt -- and those about the Camaro being delayed -- and thus, I felt that I would respond because I was asked to......and if I'd responded in the political thread area, those with concerns about the Camaro being delayed -- or GM going bankrupt -- those people would most likely have not seen it...........so I hope you'll humor me....

You have some very good points.........

............but a funny thing happened to me: Three months after I'd received my stents - I got FOUR different letters from FOUR different law firms wanting to represent me in a lawsuit against the stent maker........

..............seems they found that some stents --even the medicated ones CAN develop clots - and I "could" die at some point...........

WHAT??????

See: here's the problem -- I would have died shortly after the blockage was discovered -- my doctors tell me I would not have lasted 6 months.....without a major coronary event that would in all likelihood have been fatal. (.......there ARE those who may have cheered at that......) What these 'caretakers of the law' don't either realize -- or don't want to admit to is this: IF I LIVE AN EXTRA DAY with the stents - then it was worth it. Two years later I have none of the symptoms of a blockage - and therefore, I see that the company that made these stents gave me a couple of extra years -- and if I die tomorrow, GOD BLESS THEM for giving me two more years.....(and a chance to see the Camaro rise again!)

BUT -- I'm glad you responded and I think your points are certainly interesting! (I need to do more research!)


As to "Fbodfather for President?"


........sorry -- ain't no amount of money you could pay me to take on that job.........I'm not that smart -- and I have no patience!