North American car manufactures like General Motors and Ford are facing some difficult times.  Our two countries import a lot of foreign made vehicles but those countries like Japan for instance hardly import any of ours.\nSo much of our economy relies on the automotive industry.  Should the government do more to help its own industries?
212963
yes i think they should
346670
well I don't know about all over the country but what I see here in the midwest is that the transportation industry is always in need of drivers for short and long haul trucking. several years ago a conversation with a company recruter for a very large  trucking company told me that at that time they were over 100,000  new drivers short of what they wanted to have on the road and this was one of thousands of companies .\n        the second industry that never has a surplus of people for jobs available is the health care industry. Just pick a field from nursing to specialized care centers.
351627
Oh please.  Of course GM (or Ford/Chrysler/Lear/Dura/Dana/Tower/etc, etc) closing plants have a lot to do with the unions.\n\nUnion workers don't like to hear this, but NO company can afford to pay workers for the REST OF THEIR LIVES and stay in business.  Our government unions will find this out soon enough.  The wages & benefits of the UAW workers have been so out of whack with reality and the actual value of their skills, that the only way any of these companies can ever hope to stay in business is to trim their staffs.\n\nThe same EXACT thing was happening in the early 80's, the Big 3 had the chance then to fix this and they chose to do the easy thing and allow the unions to demand ever increasing wages and benefits, even as costs went through the roof, yet the prices of the vehicles could not keep up.\n\nIn the 90's the decision was made to screw over their American venders/suppliers in order to save money, yet they continued to give more & more to the unions to keep them from striking.  They managed to run nearly EVERY other American manufacturing job out of the country, and now the chicken is finally coming home to roost.\n\nFunny, if you run your suppliers out of business, then the people who used to have good jobs (and trust me, they were not near as good as the Big 3's workers had) can no longer AFFORD to buy your cars.  Your production slows, you lay off/fire workers and the big cycle of the demise of the American manufacturer is on.\n\nAll I can say to the affected UAW workers, is I AM sorry for your plight, but you should have used your free education opportunity for just this reason. \n\nOh yeah, & welcome to the real world.
445957
No. Not exactly. Infact, many of those protections are being stripped away in the USA. Most of those protections are frivolous and costly. I do think that they should legislate for such protections in their own countries. However, they have to do what they can in order to get the products in the first place and they don't have much bargaining power. In order for them to learn to be economically resourceful, they need to solve that problem themselves. By solving it for them, we only put them further behind.
52541
The United Auto Workers union obtained quite generous terms for their workers, with the result that foreign auto makers can make cars with much less cost, eroding the competitiveness of America's auto companies. Ford has declined because Toyota and Nissan have captured much market share away from GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Adding to this trouble are the underfunded pension liabilities at Ford. For further reference, check out <http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/30/news/pluggedin_fortune/>. Standard and Poor's stock Guide, available at most big libraries, is a good reference. Also, the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature can point you to recent articles in business magazines such as Forbes, BusinessWeek, and Fortune. Barron's Weekly frequently discusses Ford's fundamentals.
80346
We all need to be working on driving less and using more public transportation/walking/biking now before things become a problem.  It would be difficult, yes, but we need to keep looking for alternative sources of energy and utilizing them.  We also need to encourage the government to increase routes and kinds of public transportation.
506154
The States should definitely have more say in their own affairs. For the most part, they do, but the Feds always threaten to cut funding to the States that don't pass certain legislation. One recent example being the speed limit in Montana. Until this year, there was no speed limit in that State, but they caved in to the Feds to hold on to funding.\n\nThe Federal government should only exist to protect its citizens, act as our representative to the rest of the world, and help maintain national infrastructure. Everything else should be left to each State to provide.
62750
NOOOOO!!!!!  lets keep it American. If it ain't broke don't fix it. And it most certianly is not broke. I just hope our fords,chevey, and even dodge dominate over toyota. Cross your fingers.
295557
Yes America is losing power very rapidly.  Let me explain why.  In order to get a cheaper product our american companies like Wal mart send out all the labor of their products to China. Since China does not have any labor laws they can pay their employeeys 2 dollars an hour and not give them any benefits.  Another advantage China has is that they dont have any environmental laws prohibiting certain business practices.  This makes it a lot easier to manufacture in China. Now this is okay as long as America is more innovative but with all the money we send them to build our products they can educate their citizens.  Our education is the key to our success.  Don't worry about Japan.  They have great technology and education but they do not have enough resources to be a true super power.  We lose jobs here and our economy suffers and this is why we are losing power.
268020
You HAVE noticed it is not about countries anymore, have you?\n\nThe U.S. is not competing with anyone. Big corporations - with support from free market governments - have allowed China to set the world standards of cost and quality of many INDUSTRIAL products and of employee productivity in general. Other economies will suffer for this. \n\nChina is now the Latin America and the Southeast Asia of the 70's and 80's and 90's. Why would the government of a free market country want to kill the golden goose of modern day industrial corporations?\n\nI think you should be more concern with China having so much interest in U.S. treasury bills!!!   50%, my friend.
392113
The more people work, the more money is made. The more money is made, the more taxes are paid. The more taxes are paid, the more the people in charge of the country make even more money.\n\nAND these same leaders drive down the same roads as we do, buy the same products we do. So if everything is going great, even THEY enjoy a better life.\n\nWhy cannot places like Cuba, North Korea, MOST OF AFRICA, figure this one out?
179747
Globalization affects the periphery countries very negatively. With things like structural adjustment programs forcing third world gov. to give up their soverignty there is very little a country can do to try and find there own sustainable way to grow their country. Since these countries are often exploited through investment and the labor practices of transnationals it shouldnt suprise anyone that discontent and instability is often a third world problem.
563494
Brazil did this and it worked. If American farmers decide to go that way and automakers decide to go that way, all the lobbyists in the world cannot stop them.  We need a Bill Gates type of entrepreneur to promote this industry.
102593
with tech, everyone has a voice. theres no need for representitives anymore. theres nothing gov doe that the private sector cant do better. theres no need for government at all anymore. obviously government cant; protect the borders, deliver the mail, protect its people, build roads, secure trade & commerce, develop relations with other countries.....nothing.
570802
Thats BS.\n If what you say is indeed true than they are very smart for contributing to their OWN economy. We could learn  alot from them\nContributing to the global economy has contributed 1000s of Americans out of jobs duh. What about our own economy?\n\nOh btw define what is expected? That is the problem you see. Too many countries expect .
670288
We have problems here to take care of. What about the poor kids living in Appalachia, what about all the families displaced by Katrina, what about the kids who are loosing their dads in Iraq. Charity should begin at home. The Mexicans have had their own country longer than the United States has been a country. They need to make the changes that will bring about a better life in their own country. Why do they come here and demand that we bend over backwards for them.\n\nBilly B hit the nail on the head. The former U.S companies that moved their operations down there should be paying those people a fair wage, but guess what, they went ther for the slave labor. Ford Motor Company will be the next to go there. And they are right, they aren't our jobs, the jobs belong to the companies, they can do what they want. Isn't it funny that the big companies from America are leaving for the slave labor, and now the once unknown automakers like hyundai are opening plants here. They can afford to do that because the unions have been busted and now they can get auto workers for ten bucks an hour. Seems funny that these companies get labor cheaper, they use less people to build a car, they use less materials to build a car now, but the prices go higher every year. \nWell, the Mexicans can survive on their own, they survived a long time before we the United States arrived on the scene. I think they are attempting to destroy us from within, just like the communist said they would. Wake up America. Seal the Borders, shut the gates, stop the invasion.
105955
If these companies weren't so greedy and always thinking about profits all the time...americans needs jobs, too.  The state in which I live in have offered some companies here very nice incentives for them to stay instead of moving operations to Mexico or somewhere where is are plenty of cheap labor.  There are too many greedy companies and corporations out there.  Seriously, what are they going to do with all that money?