GM debt rating dropped to JUNK 4974

Oh, its about driving, since some of us like to drive American cars, and these are about the only ones left.

Looks like the only solution is for these companies to declare bankruptcy, liquidate, divide up the proceeds amongst the pensioners and the employees that are going to get screwed due to management's monumental mismanagement, and send the country farther along the road toward being a 3rd world country with no middle clbutt. The only ones left will be the really wealthy with the rest of the country at or below the poverty line.

Of course this is mostly due to the present administration, and the previous administration, and the one before that, and the one before that, thinking that it is a good idea to have "globalization" so that American workers and companies have to directly compete with foreign manufacturers whose employees think they're rich if they're making $25K a year doing send labor that Americans get better than $50K for. Its been going on for decades, and the software industry has been the most recent to be pulled down the drain. (Don't believe it - go to a Border's bookstore and look at the computer section - its 1-2 or less than the size that it was 5 years ago, when it should be double by now... the jobs are in India, so why study that stuff...) The adminstration(s) think(s) that its just great that we get foreign goods and services so cheap, without a concern that the jobs necessary to buy 'em, even as cheap as they are, are leaving the country with their blessings. And don't even think about what it does to the balance of trade! Eventually, we'll be at a point that makes the great depression look like prosperity.

Back to the bonehead Detroit motor mismanagement, how about those that were working on a hybrid-electric SUV, or any other hybrid-electrics, killing them in favor of these behemouth SUV's that are getting low-teens mpg or worse? Now, they don't have anything to sell (again) when people suddenly want economy cars because of the price of the gas. No foresight whatsoever. Look for cars What are they thinking (ans. - they're not thinking...)

With the ultra-cheap gas in the country existing around here, at $1.999 a gallon, I'm still considering the VW Jetta TurboDiesel Wagon to (partially) replace the functionality of my Jeep. 49 mpg could mean an almost-free vehicle when the savings are calculated into my high incidence of driving and the 18 mpg that the Jeep gets. I hope to retire somewhere that I don't have to put more than about 7000 miles a year on a car, but right now its running around 35K, and I'm not a bit happy about it. Wish that the house, the work, and the health club and movie were all within walking distance of each other, but they're not - it results in a lot of days where the driving is well over 70 miles.

Just another rant that makes me feel better - now I'll go hoist some iron at the gym which will distract me, calm me, clear my head, and generally get me out of this mood I'm otherwise working up to...

Dave Head