KING'S THINGS...IT'S MY TWO CENTS!

Hi Larry,

You said:

When I put my Citicorp card in the ATM, will money come out?

I don't know?

When you put your Citicorp card in the ATM, will the card come out?

Northport, NY

Do you think they should change the name of Citibank?

Maybe:

The United States Bank Company

If the economic failure was due to the housing market and bad loans, then the solution should be paying off the portion of the house debt up to a point that the homewoners previous paymnet, and what they could have afforded at the start of their loans. The banks will get their losses back, the homeowners will hold on to their homes, and have money to spend to stimulate the economy, and more breaks for all other home owners, Creating new jobs will ultimately solve the major problem of unemployment.This will stimulate the economy.

The US government stimulated the stock price of Citibank today.

They own a 7% stake of this company and have control over it.

What does this templet represent -

Does the government own Citibank or does Citibank own the government?

Maybe the governments real plan is to make us believe there is a plan!

Injecting money into the stock market to buy bank stocks won't solve the fundamental problems!

It would take hundreds of trillions of dollars to sure up the markets at this point and restore confidence.

Like water finds its own level – only a complete meltdown (a total crash) can fix the broken financial structure – called the Stock Market.

Perhaps our government and the G7-20/IMF realize this!

Northport, NY

Hi Larry,
Love the show.
I received a statement from Citibank today at the same time I heard the news of Citicorp getting bailed out by the Feds. My statement says my 6% interest rate will know be 18% (I've never been late on a payment) and that I have two options:
1. Accept the higher interest rate and keep my card.
2. Opt out with my current rate and pay it off within the expiration date of the card.

Is Citicorp trying to cash in all their Chips?

Having a Comedian Like "Ben Stein" on Larry King Live will Sure Livin' Things Up Beyond Our Wildest Imaginations.

BigD

I really do not appreciate people that do nothing but cut down other peoples ideas but do not have a better solution.....Ben Stein, what would you do to fi the economy????

hi larry, i think that obama will surround himself with very good people and given time will succeed, we are going to go up after being at the bottom so long. do you think obama will give the american people a stimulas check as bush did? do you think the auto co.s will get bailed out, & why weren't the the finanical institutions asked to present a bussiness plan like the auto co.s?

Hi Larry,
I hope the Obama's administration will investigate to see if there had been any criminal wrong doing whith the $700 billion bail out. I have a very bad feeling, i think the American people have been robbed by a bunch of intellectual crook.

Instead of bailing out the big three auto makers,who come we aren't sinking those millions into mass transit? I live in California where there really isn'tany good mass transit, except for San Franciso's BART. L.A.s is a disaster and wher I live the trolly and buses are a joke, there fore leaivng us no choice to drive our cars??

Hi Larry

Here is some fuel for your guests!. Ask them why did the banks use the american home as a one armed bandit? Borrowing on a promoise your house will be worth that extra 1000.00 next year?
Bottom line they loaned money because they were greedy and they wanted more pie!. We guess what the pie fell off the table! Ask them how do you put the milk back in glass after it is spilled?
Another bailout for greedy fatcats!

All these bail outs going to Wall Street, Banks and to help CEOs and stockholders. Where are the bail outs for us the common citizens whose money the government is taking.? It is shamful! what is being done. When are the citizens going to revolt and demand this government to help save us? What good is having banks, car dealerships or wall street for that matter if we the citizens have no jobs or money to live on or participate.
San Francisco

I am a teacher for a small public school district in LA county. We are short 7.1 million when can we expect ourbail out check?

Oh my gosh so glad you mentioned Saturday Night Live...it was awesome...the only voice of logic in these uncertain times. I am loving this season!!

GIVE THE AMERICAN PUBLIC A BREAK LARRY. ITS A DISGRACE TO GIVE CARLEY FARINA A PLATFORM ON YOUR PROGRAM AFTER SHE CAUSED OVER 20, 000 EMPLOYEES AT HP TO LOSE THEIR JOBS AND SHE WALKS AWAY WITH AN OVER 40 MILLION DOLLAR PARACHUTE.....WHY ANYONE WOULD WANT TO LISTEN TO HER COMMENTS IS BEYOND ME....I CERTAINLY DONT. SHE IS A DISGRACE TO NOT ONLY HERSELF BUT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND ANY CEO WHO TRIES TO DO GOOD BY THEIR COMPANY. YOU HAVE STOOPED TO A VERY LOW LEVEL OR AT LEAST CNN HAS ...I WOULD EXPECT HER TO BE ON THE FOX NETWORK.

Oh my gosh so glad you mentioned Saturday Night Live...it was awesome...the only voice of logic in these uncertain times. I am loving this season!!

In addition spending millions on new HOV lanes that you have to pay to use...Ha what a joke... and they want to bail GM & Ford out ? oh wow That is the biggest joke since Sarah Palin... Wow keep those jokes coming........I would use the "commuter"lanes but they charge for them unlike in places like Chicago and maybe New York. I think everyone should have systems modeled after them They should pony up money to anyone who can or a group who can come up with the best ideas, makiing it a prize, not a handout or corporate welfare.

All the big companies want help. What about the little people, what are we going to do for them. The unemplotyd, the sick with no health insurance, they all need help right now.Our Retireesthat are living on such a small fixed income, what are we going to do for them???/

Hey Larry

Great show as always. Got the same gift in the mail today from Citi as some of the others. No fault of mine but interest rate going up 400%. So I pay my bills and work hard so I can pay taxes to fund the bailout and get loanshark interest rates from Citi.

The bailout should stop, Citi should go broke and people should start going to jail not being rewarded.

The Pig 3 are beyond bailout, they're done, no one will buy their cars, They will go under no matter how much the taz payers throw at them. The only people that will see that $$ are the corporate executives Let them file for bankruptcy like every other failed business that made stupid mistakes and did not change to meet demands and changes in the market. They FAILED and we have no reason to beleive they will not continue to fail as they (ceos, UAW, etc.) do not want to put any skin in the game.

How Much More Proof Do We Need to Show that the PEOPLE WITH THE MONEY, Just an Not Be Trusted.
Virtually Anybody can Do Right in a "Phony Robust Economy" that has No Credible Accountability + No Visual Responsibility!
"Don't Worry, the Reason We Know What to do is Because We Already Have Money, the Same Money We Just Won't Let go Of!
Trust Us, We're Conservative Republicans!

Ask your guest this--

Instead of bailing out banks, auto industry, etc., why not bail out people?? What a concept! Give each US household $25,000 to use on a mortgage, perhaps to prevent foreclosure, or a car, or whatever they need-and watch the economy soar! Total cost for 300 million households = $1,560, 000,000 (or $1.56B). Why not?

Lyn Miles & Shela Van Ness

Why is Detroit getting the cold shoulder from Congress and the Banks don't even have to ask they just get the money? We the employees of the Auto Industry sit and wait while our futures are played with by Congress and we are the ones that are paying for the bail-outs. How fair is that?

What are we going to do for the little people, the sick; who are Uninsured, the Unemployed, the Retirees; living on the small fixed income.??????/i

I sincerely believe that bailout money should be given to the consumers buying GM, Ford or Chrysler cars- that way the consumers can use the money to fix cars when they break.

Larry,

Do any of your panelist believe the FDIC or the Federal Government actually have all the money needed to guarantee everyones bank account in the country?

Does a guarantee also mean that if the banks run out of money or there is a run on the banks you are promised to get your money immediately or eventually?

Is a guarantee by the FDIC a promise?

Where is the money?

Northport, NY

Larry,

My family and I are going on vacation this spring. I am going to ask the Bush administration to finance it for me... I only need $5 billion.... I hope they don't turn me down, b/c that's the only vacation that I will ever go on.

Hello,
People are talking about the root cause but are not going very deep. To simplify, the problem is that people working a steady 40 work week, do not have anywhere near what is needed to support a family of 4 or 5 including healthcare and college education, on this single income.
People are not willing to even talk about this, as the rich people will have to become more like the rest of us to get back to this.
This was the goal of the industrial revolution which even believed that the work week would be shortened.

Larry,

I have a solution to help the auto industry. Instead of Washington giving the automakers money, why doesn't Washington just give taxpayers a $25,000 voucher check to be used to purchase an energy-efficient AMERICAN car? This way, Detroit would move inventory, consumers would get a more fuel efficient car and the economy would be stimulated. I, for one, need a new car, but with the hit my investments have taken, I can't afford one. A $25,000 voucher would both help me and Detroit .

Sandi Williams
Villa Rica, GA

Hey Jerry , I' m with you. We have only been able to take a vacation...oh yeah NEVER since Bush has been in office..All's they can do is say NO!!!!

The "bail-out" issue with the big three US auto companies would be just delaying there obvious down fall. If anything we should let me fail. They have made the same horrible cars and watched there over-seas counterparts come in and dominate. If we do give them money nothing is going to change about there products. We would just be securing the executives futures. The government should just give up on them and focus on getting some of the succesful car companies to come in and take over there factories. Let them create jobs here and show the BIG 3 how its done...

Larry; What is going on. Haven't we learned the impact of language? Wars are fought over language, murders are committed and the winds of fortune change because of language.

Investors are hoping to hear something hopeful and instead they listen to the partisan infighting for position and power. Ben Stein should stick a sock in it instead of putting his negative, nothing will work opinion out there.

The media benefits when things go very wrong. Can you say that you folks at CNN aren't feeding this fire for ratings.

Let's all do something to help instead of pointing fingers just because the President Elect is on the Democrat side. Give me a break.
Norman

Let GM fail. Give the new jobless food and financail support while they go to work for Honda and Toyota, or go into some other profession. These workers are skilled technicians who will survive. For the rest of us who have no skills just feed us until we get through this.

Carl Landon Taylor- I am hoping this nation will know what being a neighbor is again...and take care of each other.

Is it just me or is this current administration trying to had over all of the available bailout money to wallstreet so there will be no money for main street when Obama takes office? This whole bail out thing is making me say "Hmmmm".

Honda, BMW, Nissan are all hiring....WHY...because they make better cars and do not have the UAW weighing them down.. HELLO....follow the leaders....

Going forward, I can only pray that the new president does something to encourage companies to keep the jobs here in the USA. I work for a very large corporation and so many or our jobs have been outsourced due to cheaper help – of course quality, timely response, communication and system availability has gone down and customer service is a thing of the past but WE ARE SAVING MONEY!! The best way to fix our problems is to have people who live here get decent jobs and get off of unemployment – it is so difficult for anyone to find a job now – I say down with outsourcing and up with keeping American Citizens employed – how can we do anything less, correct the problem now, please Mr. President !!

We are all americans. My family has been here since they landed on Plymouth rock, fitting since it is TG on Thursday. I also have family from two eastern European countries who left oppression and persicution they worked too darn hard to let it go down the ***er to give up.(They also landed in Detroit, but weren't directly related to the automakers) Oh wait I think GM....EWWWWW......

1 IT would seem to me that the US needs a stimulus package without raising the deficit.

2 We need a stimulus to help buisness and low income Americans deal with the holiday seasons.

3 Send out the earn income credits early Based on 2007 tax return.

4 You can easily do this because all the information is already in the tax information.

5 There are several different ways to do this mathematically
A. You could retrieve all money back from 2008 tax return
B. Or you could charge percentage of that back in a 5 or 10 years period at 10 or 20 percent. This would keep the stimulus on going. In the tax payers can retreat all there money back.

Thanks
Tonya

Please tell me why Ben Stein is so critical of almost every suggestion made regarding the fix for the economy and yet he has no ideas of his own to offer. Please ask him to provide at least one suggestion for every criticism he has.

Elaine,
Arlington, Texas

Larry, I just witnessed several employees at my job get laid off to prepare for 2009 finances. What will Obama need to say to companies that are going to start laying off and letting people go IN ADVANCE of monies they havent lost yet. How can we get people to buy American again, even after the decision on the Automakers are done. I want to buy American, and if they give some garauntees that I wont have to spend more to fix my car that my payments each month then I am all for it. Americans have run scared from American made, and this has caused a HUGE hiccup thats going to take a lot more than bailouts, its going to take all American citizens trusting America and American Made, Thanks Ray E.

Awwww....glad this feature is back in the USA Today, Larry. Really missed it.

Please,Larry I love watchingya, but can'tya get anybody else but Ben Stein?? There's gotta be some one else out there who can give us an oppisite view besides him...And yes, and where is Joe Biden??? Its gonna be a new game...Where's Joe???

We constantly hear talk about the Middle Class Working Americans and how they built this country. However, what everyone ignores greatly is that America was built from forced labor....BLOOD-SWEAT and HEARTBREAKING TEARS OF AFRICAN SLAVES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
America continues to be a nation that hasn't apologized for its crimes comitted during slavery and post civil rights era.
Maybe now that it has officially elected a Bi-racial president, it is quietly offering this jesture as an apology–NOT!
News casters/reporters must also be able to acknowledge this true fact–AMERICA WAS BUILT BY FORCED LABOR OF AFRICAN SLAVES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.

Forget impreachment- I am wondering at what point we can "Baker Act" Pres. Bush... I just hope we can survive until Obama gets in...and even then think of the mess he has to clean up...it is almost humanly impossible. Keep that in mind folks before any criticism begins...

Forget impeachment- I am wondering at what point we can "Baker Act" Pres. Bush... I just hope we can survive until Obama gets in...and even then think of the mess he has to clean up...it is almost humanly impossible. Keep that in mind folks before any criticism begins...

sorry for posting twice tonight- time for a new computer.

To Ben Stein:

DO NOT BLAME GEITHNER FOR LEHMAN

Geithner was OPPOSED to letting Lehman fail. Paulson & Bernanke overruled him.

Get your facts straight, Ben. Gergen was on CNN Friday night saying exactly that.

Seems Joe Biden is taking Dick Cheneys place as the invisble man......I thought Cheney died and the White House was keeping it quite.

Why is the media not talking about the 7.4 TRILLION the FED has pledged to "rescue" companies with frozen credit. It seems like the FED could give every man, woman and child 30,000. each and allow the people to spend and save and purchase cars and homes, and it would get confidence back into our markts. Why not do that, since we have to pay for these companies, where we have no say in how they spend OUR MONEY?

good show larry

ask them when something will be done about the housing crisis.
my wife, three kids and my sick mother are facing forclosure and we have been asked to leave. the interest rates increased on us and we can't afford the high rates.

Larry

Tell Ben Stein to stop criticizing Hank Paulsen. He has single handedly managed to make the banking industry greener overnight.

Clark

Hello Larry and Ben,

I watch your show regularly and wanted to share my opinion on the big three. I think as tough as it is to see another 4.5 million people go out of work. We can not give GM a bailout. The best thing we can do is let them go into bankruptsy, and force them to create a product the American people want to buy. The products Gm, and the rest of the domestic car manufactures produce are obsolete. Let them create something that is green, like a car that runs on Lithium Ion,or Bio fuels, or possibly even more Hybrids. The bottom line is the 25 billion they are asking for will not carry them to land on there feet. If Gm, Chrystler, and Ford can not make new products that compete with the foreign industry then they do not need to be in the Automobile industry any more.

There are obviously many factors in the failure of the "Big-Three" auto industry. I would like to see you report on the comparison of the CEO/management team wages to those employees at the bottom of the food chain. Would you please compare the company structure of the "Big-Three" to Toyota and other successful companies. I saw the interview with the CEO of JAL last week and he has the same benefit package as the rest of the employees and makes $90,000 per year.

we bail out card companys 's but they still put fee's on us we one paying thair way

Please peple, remember, Obama is going to be your President, not your Savior. It matters not who is in office, the President can only do so much!

This administration and congress is amazingly off on 85% of the issues they have placed in front of the people, which the people are the backbone of the US. Citibank was bailed out ,because they are under contract they are in control of the Armed Forces /Government credit card system. It is still wrong!
The government has to help the auto industry, which it will be cheaper than the bailout's for Cititbank and AIG. How can you justify placing Three Million adults, families and communities plus in the poor house.

Tell old Ben Stein that I am a middle class citizen of this country, the government takes nearly half my paycheck every two weeks. You old rich fart, shows how much you know about the middle class citizens of this country! To say we don't pay much in taxes!

The ultimate problem is that the auto industry hasn't offered a new breed of vehicles that we all think we have to own. The last beed was the SUV. Thankfully the housing boom delayed this recession by about 5 years but before the SUV craze was the mini van craze. 1 in 10 Americans work directly for the auto industry and if you think about it chances are, they are married and have a child or two. This means at least 2 in 10 of all consumers in the US depend on the automakers for income. And in the end your customers, clients etc are autoworkers. Bottom line...until the automakers produce a new breed of vehicle that we all think we have to have..we're in trouble.

THE PRESIDENT ELECT HAD A NEWS CONFERENCE TODAY. I HAVE BEEN IN FRONT OF MY TV MOST OF THIS EVENING AND CNN DOES NOT HAVE THE CONFERENCE ON FOR THOSE OF US WHO WORK DURING THE DAY, COMMENTARIES ARE THERE BUT WE DO NOT SEE THE REAL THING!!!!! REPORT THE NEWS FOR GOD'S SAKE. NO GOSSIP NO COVERAGE?

Hey, Larry did you ever work with Dave Garroway? My Dad used to be a writer for him wayyyyy back when. He was a hunt & peck typer. On a manual heavy type writer...Ok thought I'd throw that out there. TC..LOL

Perhaps the answer to solving the financial crisis is a supercomputer!

Northport, NY

Larry;
Don't know if we should bail out the 'BIG THREE" What I do know this country needs more jobs that pay a fair wage and has health benifits that can be affordable. We need to STOP sending our jobs overseas!
Robert Gorges California

I don't know which Live Blog that guys is looking at becuase I do not see any of those comments he highlighted on this one.....

I can’t understand how our government can discuss anything about the auto industry without a mention of the oil industry, which has transposed the auto industry forever. The high oil prices of this summer have frightened people away from buying the most profitable vehicles that the big three make, for many years to come, if not permanently. All the while, oil companies have been exempt from antitrust laws, especially those pertaining to price collusion, in amassing billions of dollars in profits. Why don’t law makers consider going after some of these obscene profits to obtain part of the money needed to keep the American auto industry alive until a transition can be made to building more fuel efficient cars. I’m not saying that the auto makers aren’t responsible for very bad decisions and desperately in need of better management, but I am saying that I do believe the greed of oil companies is much more responsible for our economic problems than people think, and that these pirate companies should be held accountable! This country needs to enforce its antitrust laws, as well as to make executives "employees at will" instead of contract employees so that they become more accountable.

Hey Larry,
It's our money right there using to bail these companies out? Why don't we put it to a vote to decide what to do with it?
Where is my voice in deciding what happens with my money?

-lisa
athens, ga

AGAIN MAY I POINT OUT WE ARE TOSSING OUT THE WINDOW 7.4 TRILLION, not 700 Billion as thermedia prefers to discuss.
7.4 TRILLION, 7.4 trillion. CAN I SAY IT LOUD ENOUGH!!!

I don't understand this country's willingness to sacrafice millions of American jobs! No we can't be sure that the Big 3 will survive another hundred years, but can we really leave main street hanging, again???

Why does "change" have to mean completely new names? Isn't a change from the past 8 years enough??

Wouldn't it help our economy immensely if we got out of Iraq immediately?

my family has been hit realy hard, first gas prices now food and loss of jobs, we have had to double our family size by letting children and grand children move in what do we do when the unemployment runs out, Mishawaka, IN R.V. industry

Regarding the "big3bailout, why can't the oil companies bail out the auto makers?

Anderson,
In dealing with the Detroit automakers, much is made of unions being a reason that Detroit is not competitive, and certainly, things like the "job bank" are problems.

Still, I wonder if the problem would be as bad had we not decided, via subsidies and tax breaks by Southern states to foreign companies, to establish a second automobile industry, free of union scale wages, health care costs, or pension liabilities. Some of the legacy costs of Detroit is the result of being a good employer for 100 years.

I can't imagine Germany giving Opel an exemption from health care related taxes, union wages, and subsidies not available to VW or Mercedes. If they did, unionized BMW plants would look like the unions were a problem, too.

How did we wind up paying foreign companies to take Detroit manufacturing jobs?

Regarding the auto bailout.

PLEASE discuss the possibility of having the oil companies bail them out by loaning them money, buying them or some other transaction to save them.

They are the ones that have the profits.

They are the ones that have something in it for them.

I have a BIG problem with this bailout. The government (congress, Paulsen) is giving the impression that anyone can cry wolf and they can get help. This is a very wrong message to send. There is no financial responsibility. I am currently unemployed, cant find permanent decent employment, so can I ask the government to bail me out??? The initial bailout to the financial institutions did not have proper language in it to eliminate bonuses, and to force the banks to do banking not go and buy banks. I am also very unhappy with the level of power a Cabinet member seems to have. We just keep printing money and no one is being held accountable for their mistakes. The bailout is a wrong, there is no penalty for any of these fat cat mistakes.

i pay fee's to to this banks to me bail them out why

why don't they help the poor people with medical and there home

instead of giving it to people that we can see they don't know how to spend it

I feel the government should bail out the auto industry. Although this is a capatilistic society we (Americans) rely on our government to protect us. The government should at the point that a company gets to a certain size mandate certain criteria to be met. Regulations that are in place do not work. Too may people are effected by companies of this magnitude (to the degree that our nation suffers this economic tumultous decline). They dropped the ball and allowed companies of this size to put society in this condition. We need better regulators and regulations. Remember the old KISS method. What happened to that?

Let's call it what it really is....8 Bushillions.....

IS TODAY'S NEW CONFERENCE ON CNN VIDEO, i COULD NOT FIND IT?

Larry--Does a big U-Haul pullup to the back door of the White House so Bush can move back to Texas. Just asking

It's a hard decision about the automaker bailout: I hate to see the greedy CEOs getting their way, but then, I also don't want to see the workers lose their jobs and the trickle down effect. It's a darned if you do and darned if you don't!

The US Government (that is we, taxpayers) should loan Honda, Nissan and Toyota 100 Billion plus to buy out "the big 3" . They could fire the excessively overpaid executives, reverse the persistent bad decision -making, save many of the blue-collar jobs at stake, and salvage what can be salvaged. Plus, we'd actually get our money back!

Larry, why you keep inviting Ben Stein back on your program is beyond me.
You have so many great people to choose from – Stein is a complete idiot with no solutions or credentials for that matter.
Thank goodness for David Gergen and Bob Woodward!!!!

u had a guy on tonight that said the middle class doesn't pay much income tax well i worked over 900 hours of overtime this year i've already paid 21k in income tax has warren buffet paid 20% of his income this year in taxes? or bill gates you want 2 make it fair? do away with the income tax lets all pay at the pump tax groceries and we all pay even the illegals

Does anyone realize the Europeans have been paying well over $5.00 a gal for fuel for years, because of their socialist programs,, I am sure last summer it was over $10.00 a gallon.

Please read Bloomberg about the 7.4 Trillion we are actually going to give away. The media knows it and is not talking about it. Why????

Larry, I am not sure why you had a failed HP executive on your show as an expert commenting on the economy. She is obviously part of the problem, an like most so called experts, failed to see this whole mess coming, and from the sounds of her rhetoric, is totally disconnected from the reality of why this whole mess has occurred.

The fact is if I, as a consumer, want to tighten my belt, I won’t be buying such things as HP products, thus their stock will fall, thus they will lay off workers, who will in turn tighten their belts because they weren’t getting paid that much from the beginning, etc., etc., etc. A child could understand that concept.

Also, the commentator made a totally false rebuttal in saying that Robert R. claimed unions would solve all our problems. He said no such thing, but merely was making the important point that stagnant wages mean a stagnant economy because wage earners are 70% of the economy.

My concern is the big 3 are being asked to provide a business (very important), but what of all these financial institutions?
Citigroup has already been given a "bailout" and more today, what is their business plan? Has anyone asked?

Our legislators are trying to bail out and give advice to near bankrupt companies. They are not financial wizards, or our national debt would not be what it is. Who is going to bail out the american people when congress spends us into the poor house?

There is no "forgiveness' for Americans losing their homes, so why should anyone be bailed out without at least controls? The gov't physically take control of the banks, auto, and insurance industries so the American public has someone to hold accountable. Private industries who don't have to account to congress their private accounts, didn't happen when I brought a car,house or insurance. Hold them to the same flame. John in SC

Rhonda M Nelson, I AGREE WITH YOU, THIS IS THE RESULT OF TOO MUCH FREEDOM, USE IT BUT DON'T ABUSE IT!

I hear the talking heads talking about the American Auto Industry not building cars that people want! If this is true, how is it that GM is the #1 car mfg.?
GM is doing this with a huge social obligation of providing insurance for over 800,000 people. As a result of free trade, we have allowed foreign companies to compete with American industries without any social obligation. With a whooping $1,200 per car social obligation disadvantage, I think they have done an outstanding job.
It appears the talking heads think it is in America's best interest to bankrupt GM and let foreign interests to take over the entire American auto industry.

We should not bail out the auto industry. There are processes in place, if they fall into bankruptcy, including reorganization, reevaluation of products and revitalization that kick in. The auto industry has needed this for decades. Many companies have been through it and learn how to survive through retooling, etc. Example in point, AT&T, Airline Industry.

Further Detroit has put out the worst, out-of-date products and has had arrogance about their products and how they have treated customers. I bought a GM car in 1985 (brand new), which rusted in my garage with 30K miles on it! And, the repair bills for the motor were astounding. We could not even donate the car. We contacted GM over and over, and the arrogance on the part of the company! not their problem. Back then we were a young couple, and saving for that car with two little kids was a big deal. I told them we would never ever buy another US car. Decades later, we have owned several new cars, all foreign, all reliable and serviced by the manufacturer. So, these auto companies need to revamp in entirety.

Further, I was let go after WTC and have not been able to replace my job. Over-qualified, too old. No bail outs for me! Had to retool my skills, change my . objectives.

Larry,

I don't understand why some of the guests on your show today like Ms. Fiorina fails to recognize that the Big 3 have already been taken serious steps to reorganize. The UAW has already agreed to tier 2 wages and for Ms. Fiorina to say that the Big 3 were not making the cars people wanted to buy is a severe misrepresentation of the facts. Lets not forget how long it takes to retool and change direction for a company that makes cars and I strongly believe that we are not looking at the facts. GM, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota were all making and selling lots of utility large trucks because that is what people wanted to buy! It is not until the gas prices go to $4.00 USD that people changed their mind. The Auto industry immediately has changed direction, closing shifts and plants of truck plants and adding capacity to car lines.

As the Auto industry was dealing with this, they get hit with the credit crisis and the car sales go down from 16 million units to 10 million units. This is a huge loss of volume that nobody saw coming. It is not that people are not buying the cars that the big 3 make is that they CAN NOT BUY ANY CAR. We have lost 35% plus of the volume in 2 months. This is a huge loss of revenue for an industry that has to make significant investments and commitments to fixed costs.

Last but not least, I was glad to see that your panel all agrees that we can not afford to lose this industry. I work for a logistics supplier supporting all of the Auto Industry and I can tell you that the jobs at stake in my mind will be higher than the 3 million we are talking about. The 25 Billion loan is nothing in comparison to the risk we run if this industry goes out of business. Trust me, even Ms. Fiorina's former company will struggle if there is no auto industry. We have a lot of HP computers in our company that will no longer be purhcased!

Tonight's show was terrible. I did not finish my college degree, and even I knew that there would be consequences to our government's continual printing of money. Have you ever heard of Peter Schiff? Mr. Schiff predicted this crisis to the letter. For your panel tonight, including Ben Stein, to say that no one could predict what is happening now, come on....you have got to be kidding.

Have Peter Schiff on your show, and check out his books. Tell the real truth on your show for once.

C. Reiss

Free the market.
This is a great opportunity to do so. So what if a company fails when the PEOPLE chooses another. That's capitalism. Maybe Toyota and others would buy controlling interest and run them properly. Whatever. There is something to be said about the fact that I would never buy a Ford with over 100 miles on it but I would a Honda.
I don't think that we should play GOD. The government should not choose winners and losers. Leave the market alone.
How many times have we been wrong about trends. Remember when we thought the paper industry would suffer with the proliferation on personal computers and the internet? We were wrong.
As we are now.

Hello MR. King there is one topic that is never brought up (iam a fox news viewer but iam on my boat in Mexico & the cable is only showing cnn, but I have always thought you were pretty good) Nobody has ever brought up the fact that maybe our great nation is at the end ! Iam sure the Romans & many other great nations thru history thought things would never change,but they ALWAYS do !!! All the great experts have something to say , they seem to be like jailhouse laywers. I really think we have to be careful right now in our time of turbulence, just like in history. All the great nations have fallen!!! We have been pretty cocky thru the years ! I dont think we have the skills or the guts our for fathers have had ! save ur money Larry & buy a boat & move to Mexico, I'll buy you a tequila !!(been a contractor in the middle east for many yrs) thanks for ur time , Jim.

Does every one remember when Bush said Social Security was running out of money??????? Well I think the first bail out should be with the Social Security. What a stimulus pkg. that would create. Don't you think?

I think the financiers at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs – the traders and risk managers – and Bob Rubin, Hank Paulson and Sandy O'Neill – all should be prosecuted for devising these crooked ponzi schemes selling worthless securities – bankrupting the financial systems of the entire world – for which they now need us, the US Taxpayer to bail them out.

Every one of these execs – including Rubin – should be put in jail – and all their money confiscated – I mean all their money. Put the net worths of all these crooks together and you probably have four or five billion dollars at least. Small compensation for the trillion we have to pay, but you gotta start somewhere.

From its inception Cerberus has been known as the premier private equity firm that principally invests in companies which are at or near bankruptcy. They have created a market for these services, a market that today they dominate with $26 billion under management. Their name, derived from the mythical, three-headed dog that guards the gates of hell, reflects this focus. A typical private equity firm requires an investor to provide a minimum capital contribution of $1 million and compliance with a series of indemnity agreements related to the high-risk nature of their business. The fact is they are in the business of, on behalf of their ultra-wealthy investors, placing bets exactly like the one they made on Chrysler.

The Cerberus acquisition of Chrysler closed in Q3 of 2007, barely a year ago. The exhaustive due diligence completed by Cerberus disclosed every possible downside scenario to them. What could have changed so drastically in a year? There was no naiveté on their part; they knew exactly what they were getting into. Curiously, Cerberus could not convince Daimler AG, from whom Chrysler was purchased, to assume any debt in the transaction – a debt burden that today they are asking the American taxpayer to shoulder. In fact, at the time of the acquisition and for many years prior, the financing arm of Chrysler (Chrysler Finance Corporation now known as Chrysler Financial) has been the only profitable division of the company. Cerberus was and is fully aware of this fact at the time of the acquisition.

Cerberus employs an aggressive “lend to own” strategy in most all of their financing deals, with the intent of wholly owning the assets of a faltering entity. They use a mechanism called “Debtor in Possession”, or DIP, financing to accomplish this. At an absolute minimum, if Congress chooses to extend capital to any of the automakers, and specifically to Chrysler, the terms and conditions of the arrangement should reflect similar DIP terms and conditions. Cerberus has required no less of the bankrupt companies to which they so willingly provide financing, including many iconic businesses such as Anchor Hocking, Alamo and National car rental, Georgia Pacific, Remington Arms, Formica, GMAC and Baan software, among others. This list is far from exhaustive. To further emphasize their scale, Cerberus recently paid a $100 million “breakup fee” to United Rentals after walking away from a potential deal. How can we, as responsible citizens, support a firm that is on one hand openly willing to pay these extraordinary sums of money for the simple option of acquiring another company, and on the other hand request governmental bailout capital in order to shore up their limited partners? One might consider requiring that Cerberus’ billionaire CEO, Steve Feinberg, personally guarantee a percentage of any loan in exchange for the capital provided until repaid.

Cerberus has acquired and split up company after company over the years, yet Chrysler’s CEO Bob Nardelli has not put that option on the table for Congress. It is a rational, logical move as, even in these dire times for the industry, the Jeep brand would raise a significant amount of capital for Chrysler if sold. Likewise, the Dodge Truck brand would raise an equivalent amount of capital that could be reinvested in their business for survival. Cerberus does not want to review these options because the potential ROI to their investors is greater if those cherry assets remain with the corporation and they are instead asking the American taxpayer to finance their errors in judgment. It is unconscionable.

No wounder our economy is so so bad no one wants to bail out the big 3.The ones that don't want to bail out the big 3 buy china...watch out chinisee cars are coming...when are we going to boycott china wake up america.

1.10.100.1000.10000.100000.1000000,100000000,100000000000.....BUSHILLION.....now that is a legacy...he created a number beyond infinity.

Why are we giving more money to Citicorp/ All they did is buy new banks with the first bailout. I thought if a company is in trouble they cannot buy anything until they clean up there own mess. Have they shown proof of helping the person/s who need assistance? I say no to big 3 and no to anymore money or bailouts. If there are anymore bailouts make them to the people who are in financial difficulty.

I never thought I would see that at the young age of 60 and totally dissabled on Social Security Dissability ( next to nothing ) that I would be so close to eating cat food with my cats.

What a pleasure to hear a civilized discussion without folks without interrupting and talking over each other!!! Woodward and Gergen are real gentlemen and brilliant!!!

I just saw Bob Woodward say that the American press is investigating why the economic meltdown happened.
Well, if the U.S. press is going to do a job as " well " as it did during the Iraq invasion and the Bush years, we are not going to see much, are we?
Bob, Larry: the great days of American journalism are over!!!

Kelly from Tampa,

So we the people should step in, just like we did with the election, and take America back. We all must help each othe, so when you see people who need help as homeless or see an abandone house get your neighbors to help fix the house so, don't wait for the Government. In Philadelphia, we help give homeless familys toys for their kids and give thm a XMAS Dinner and XMAS Show. Our Phila. Martin Luthur King Assoc of Non-Violence sponsers this event.

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) - The U.S. government is prepared to provide more than $7.76 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers after guaranteeing $306 billion of Citigroup Inc. debt yesterday. The pledges, amounting to half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, are intended to rescue the financial system after the credit markets seized up 15 months ago.

Quoted from bloomberg web page today.

This is for everyone to read... Please let everyone know this.

The government can't get it right: they propose a bill to buy troubled assets, then change scrap the initial plan and give out an additional $60 million to a company who has already received $85 million and now they have given another $20 to another financial institution and and people are still losing jobs. Do you wonder why we have a $10 trillion deficit?

President Bush is too much a war monger. He should keep out of other nations business.

Perhaps a U.S. government condition of any bailout of a company in the private sector (on behalf of American taxpayers), and to inspire investor confidence should be management reform and the replacement of the top decision makers within the company who brought that company to such a low position. If any average taxpayer were to show such gross incompetence in their own job - they would immediately be escorted to their desks, told to take their personal belongings and shown the door. Then Main Street might feel that there is some hope around the corner and that we are not just throwing good money after bad! We need the companies, we just don't need to reward poor management.

Bob, David & Larry,

America & The Wizard of Oz:

The public, thanks in part to the internet – is pulling the curtain open behind the great and powerful WIZARD (the political system) and realizing he doesn't really know exactly what he's doing, but he is a good wizard at heart!

Is there a way for people that do pay their bills on time to get a lower rate on your mortage from Citigroup? DoI have to miss payments to qualify?That doesn't seem right. Do you?

Dear Larry,
I'm Swiss/Finnish, having my second home in West Palm Beach, Fl, and I have been following with keen interest the american politics and the election. We in Europe are very happy with the election results. It will not be easy for Obama to take over the stage. Three main US problems: economics, education, health system. Bailing out companies only circulates the money not really helping the situation, just a band-aid for a very short-term relief. Trust Barack Obama and give him time to clean the house. The world is watching and hoping.

City-Bank is own by Saudi Arabia, so what is the liaison in between the oil price going down shapely, the Saudi Arabia going out of OPEN and the bail-out along with this president family personal relationships with Arabs?

Hello is anyone in there with a few of your guests Larry when they talk about "let the big 3 fail"?Once they fail they will not come back and how many people will truly be out of work other than just the blue workers.Everything that goes into making 1 car it takes many companies that make parts for that 1 car all over the Country. along with paper companies,vending machines for coffee,soda,people that work in lunch rooms along with pens,pensils,papers etc etc etc.
The CEOs need to take cuts but I'm sure they feel that Wall Street got a blank check and didn't take too many cuts so why should they.In fact how many of the banker CEOs got buy out packages of big bucks?
Any bail out all should take cuts and no CEO should walk out with a package deal that includes banks along with the Big 3
A few came on the show saying the UAW workers get $40.00-$70.00 an hr.They better get their heads out of the sand and get the real wage
It's the UAW workers that took cuts in pay along with healthcare cuts.

To all the blog pundits who say Big Three Auto should not bailed out have no macro understanding of the problem. Yes the Big 3 have Union issues, executive compensation issues, private jets, but so does the Banking industry that is getting bail out with no hearing whatsoever. Compensation here makes auto company payouts look like boy scouts.

BIg 3 and its suppliers employ in excess of 3million folks in USA. I know the Imports do have plants here, but what is not understood the entire value chain of imports in not in USA. All components, radios, transmission, engine controls, ABS are all engineered, tooled, tested, sourced in Japan, Korea or Europe. So they don't need USA engineering, purchasing, or validation people. All these components come from their respective home countries. The big 3 do all of this in USA.

Oh c'om Bob get your head outa your *** How did this happen?George Bushes economic polices ,thats how...My gosh.You put oil men in charge of the oil, ahh mice in charge of cheese..ahhh cats in charge of the mice...Get where I'm going with this??? Not to mention, Bush shoud be charged with ruining this county into the ground, holdhim accountable with something. Say allyou want about Bill Clinton, but that was out last goood economy.

Larry, we are missing several points concerning the Big Three; first Chrysler is a PRIVATE Corporation; therefore the Government has not the ability to monitor the execution of all phases of manufacture; administration of funds, planning of future vehicles, and what happens to our MONEY. Next, Ford, while not doing great; what auto company, anywhere is doing great, is doing fair. They really don’t NEED the money, but if Rick and Nick can get some money, why can’t we? Now what if GM fails? We are forgetting that if mandated by some authority; can’t say at this moment, as the Congress has shown little or no concept of how THEY got hornswaggled and then blowing smoke up US! Ford will buy GM and it will become just another division of Ford. they will still say GM on the insides and sides of the previous products, except there will be a Big Blue Oval on the front and rear. More of like the US making Japanese cars, they say Honda on the product, but it’s really an American Car, constructed by Americans. GM started with Five Brands until the 60’s when they introduced the compact cars. Why do we need redundant cars, all in the same market segment; all the product lines of Chevy’s is almost enough for everyone. God knows underneath a GM product, they are all the same except for power plants; another dumb reason. They should all have the same basic power plants; give Caddie Escalades’ a few more horsepower than the Chevy LTZ, as currently done on the Vortec series of engines. Does Delco-Remy and Saginaw ring a bell. That’s one problem with GM too many redundant, look alike vehicles. At Ford, a Sable is just a Taurus with more content standard. If you price them, put the same options on that vehicle and the totals will be close enough to throw a sombrero over. Axe one of them, the one with the low sales. At Chrysler, a mini van is a mini van. Has anyone cried the lost of Plymouth?? What about Oldsmobile, Dead at 106: Oldsmobile, the last car from America's oldest car company rolls off the line Thursday in Lansing, Michigan on April 29, 2004: 11:08 AM EDT by Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN/Money staff writer
Like in the past we should let the Market determine what get sold. If it don’t sell get rid of it or improve it. Most have failed to notice that the Big Three have basically maintained a GREAT profit margin by essentially making the same vehicle from 2000, look around. New grills and taillights do not constitute the rising cost of American autos across the board. At best case, take the original VW Beetle. ON many years, they advertised a shot of about three new parts and bragged about the reliability and sturdiness of the original concept that had been refined to the Nth degree. I believe every American over Forty has owned a Beetle and know about how we could drive them and drive them and save money. Remember, it DID NOT EVEN HAVE AN OIL FILTER!!! At worst case, the Taurus should have evolved into a cheap, cost effective, totally reliable vehicle that it was intended to be by the CONSUMERS.

What difference does it make to change your work clothing from Oldsmobile to Chevy. What happened to the Olds dealers? In our town, Huntsville, AL, Bill Penney Olds became Bill Penney Toyota. They started selling and became the biggest Toyota Dealer in Northern Alabama. 2500 Huntsvillians now work at the Toyota Engine Plant, providing jobs that did not exist before.

Maybe Bailout has is a bad word, but let’s try intensively managed and motivated sounds better. Hey we are in the tank, and NO company can pay those outrageous salaries to dim witted and greedy CEOs. I volunteer to work the same job for $400,000, use of company cars, and that’s it. Free cars, a company home and you get $400Gs to buy stuff for your family. Not MILLIONS for a failing company. Wake up my Fellow Americans, virtually all of our Leadership has been lying to us and now WE are paying the Piper, and the CEOs handsomely. Fire them, start with a clean sheet, manage it and fire dummies, like the rest of us have to deal with.

American auto industry solution
The problems cannot be solved with band-aid solutions.

Will our country's leadership have the fortitude and foresight to develop a comprehensive plan, that addresses health care costs with universal healthcare, addresses retirement concerns and costs by strengthening social security, and invests in our future through education with a free college education for all? I realize that all these things require money and fair, equitable taxation.

If our leadership will not address the core problems described above, we should allow the auto makers to enter bankruptcy rather than giving them money to squander with no hope for long term success.

This is a time to sieze the opportunity to affect change. If our leadership is not willing to produce effective change that recognizes the role of government in guiding our economy and the need to monitor/regulate markets, a great opportunity will be missed.

Larry,

I have a suggestion on getting the economy a BIG boost

Obama could tell the companies, to not check the credit reports of the applicants at this time, for several americans, who are jobless, are needing a job ,to get themselves out of the financial mess that they are in. Fill out the application and bring your credit report if you get an interview??? Shameful during a time like this!! What does a credit report have to do with getting a job anyway? Do employers think that the employee is going to steal? I am speaking of those people who for years have paid their bills on time until these economic times.

So what if I need parts for my GMC pickup?
Who makes the mid size trucks that do most of the heavy urban lifting.
Not the offshore auto companies.
The offshore auto manufactures produce just the cream.
GM and Ford make the full range of light and medium duty trucks.
Don't let these icons of American pride and innovation fail.
Do it for the workers and their families not the executives of the companies or the union executive.
You will pay a bigger price in welfare payments and the costs associated with the social breakdown which is sure to take place.
Remember its the fraud perpetrated by the writers of hundreds of thousands of rotten mortgages that started this.
The big three are collateral damage.

I am a Realtor and I feel very strongly that people do not like hand outs, they prefer work outs. I think that it would help people in trouble with their mortgage if they forgave 90 days mortgage, let them refinance to a 40 year mortgage, bring the rates down to 5%. This would make their payment much less. If they cannot afford that payment then they obviousely shouldn't own a home, they should make other arrangements. i.e. renting. or purchasing one of less value. I think if you help people out with money it only puts off the inevitable. It may give them one more year at the most. Also I would like to add that when the government gives a bail out to Banks and Ford etc. they should put in work out teams to restructure and make sure we have success and our investment is protected. There are many people who have specialised in turning around failing companies.

Let's see if I correctly understand the people that thinks that it is a great thing for GM to go bankrupt!
This is your position: It's in America's best interest for foreign interests to take over American industries!!
A side note: A friend has a Ford Taurus with over 200,000 miles without any major repairs and I have a Cadillac which gets 29 mpg.

We have identified all the losers in the financial community. But where did this money go? Who were the winners? Surely these vast amounts of money lost didn't just evaporate into outer space. I am baffled that this point has yet to be addressed by anyone in the media.

problem solved- ONE word! TARIFF! we need to start charging a tariff on all autos imported into the u.s. this would put us on equal footing with foreign market. also, let the big 3 go into bankruptcy, first, to get rid of the unions and their high ridiculous hourly wages for doing a simple job a monkey could be trained to do, and additionally, do away with the high ceo salaries... put a cap on it!! its stupid to be paying a ceo 6 million dollars...get real....no more gulfstreams, DRIVE their own autos....case solved!!!

Why can't we the tax payer get the bail money for the big three and then choose to buy a car with the money to bail them out?

does anyone have a match?? I need to try to find my way out of here......

This for David Gurgen... I know that you were Predidental Advisor to 4 Presidents , has President elect Obama ever asked you for advice?
I really listen to your comments on CNN , and enjoy your wisdom...

does anyone vett the media?

Domestic auto makers
Yes loan them the money. What manufacturing do we have left in this country, minimual at best.
25 billion to keep people working is worth more then a blanck check to some nebullious financial market bailout.

the elected officals at the hearing demonstrated a lack of knowledge of an important industry.

maybe the auto execs should drive a CNG vehicle or a Hydrogren vehicle to D.C. then explain how there is not an infasrtucreu to suppport the refueling. Maybe the fed government should mandate the infastrucure to support this type of refueling.

then they should outline the BK option ( dump pensions in BK to the PBGIC) then this quasi federal agency that gurantees pension can pick up the tap- then they will be competative.
then these us represenatives how much they will save by dumping it on the PBGIC.

then they can move n to health benefits jettison them in BK and tell them how much they will save by moving these cost to the federal government when all these workers end up on medicaid.
tat could be their plan, of course this assumes they can get DIP financing which i doubt they can.

So after outlining this for the uninformed lawmakers maybe they will be convinced it is cheaper to loan them the money.

these ar the same lawmakers that just passed out 700 billion on a 2 page bill

If the recording industry's "big 4" got bailed out, the ingenuity of the independents, and the "CD babies" and the "MySpaces" and even the trickling down of high tech recording capabilities in your bedroom would not have had a chance to emerge.
We had an opportunity to let ingenuity emerge in the housing market and the car industry.
But no longer. Pity.
So keep right on injecting socialism into the brilliance of capitalism.

send the big 3 south – I need a job

"We have identified all the losers in the financial community. But where did this money go? Who were the winners? Surely these vast amounts of money lost didn’t just evaporate into outer space. I am baffled that this point has yet to be addressed by anyone in the media."

RJ, all the money went to Wall Street and oversears financiers and traders all of whom were earning 10s, if not 100s of millions a year. Not one or two guys, many, many guys. That's where all the money went.

First order of business for Obama should be to prosecute all these crooks – and there are many – and confiscate ALL their money to partially repay us. We are the ones paying the price for their greed and chicanery. They are getting off scot free and living like kings with net worths in some cases of over a billion dollars - OUR MONEY THAT THEY HAVE STOLEN FROM US.

So, I was not familiar with most of your " finer points", howver on the one question, "Do Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, and even should they"?
You are not too familiar with many Native Americans are you?

To suggest that Native Americans would or should celebrate the European idea of giving thanks for being delivered to a "new land" where they can supposedly practice their religious beliefs unmolested by the state, i.e. the English Crown, is absurd.

Isn't that exactly what our Judeo-Christiian ancestors did to the native population when they arrived, persocute them because of their religious beliefs?
In fact isn't that the Christian, standard operating procedure for dealing with native populations anywhere in the world, disregard their religious native beliefs as wrong headed and invalid?

Very much like what we did when we invaded the country of Iraq, wasn't that partially about religion, "us against them"? Bush what a bone head!
In light of the fact there are still many Native Tribal members who are trying very hard to preserve and educate their young people on their traditional ideas and practices.
Once again a mature white man talking about a native peoples, whose ideas and practices are so far

Larry can you tell the people they the only way we should bail the big 3 car company is to get a car out of the deal... nothing is selling and they want are tax dollars, what do we get out of it? I think we should get a car. please....... it's are tax dollars.

It is assumed that Mexico is a poor country. My question is what does the USA have that Mexico doesn't have.
They both have:
1. The USA has coal, Mexico has coal.
2. The USA has oil, Mexico has oil.
3. The USA has farm land, Mexico has farm land.
The big difference
1. The USA has had good paying jobs for their workers, Mexico
cheap labor.
2. The USA has had wealthy middle class, Mexico has millions of
dirt poor Mexicans.
Mexico has 7 families that control the largest part of Mexico's wealth and each member of their families are billionaires

The Answer:
The USA needs cheap labor so we can be as great as Mexico.
A good step is to shut down America industries, and turn them over to foreign interests.

You were kidding about the campaign being too short? Weren't you?!!
I think a max of 3-6 months, maybe make all of us stand up and pay attention all the time and not just when the folks wanting the top jobs want our votes!

pardon me – do you have a candle? – I've got a match! If I just light my match for illumination I won't get far, but, if I light a candle I can hang on a little bit longer and maybe find my way a little better.....is that a good economic plan .. or just putting off the enevitable?

Just watching the segment on the First Lady-Elect, Michelle Obama, a truly class act! Will she be left to manage her household and relationship without anyone trying to dig up dirt? Only time will tell.
I don't think she will be one to be shaken by low talk or stereotyping!
I look forward to her influence in the most visible home in the country, perhaps in the world!
Good Luck Mrs. Obama!!

This is the problem right here, with this sarcastic remark:
"A good step is to shut down America industries, and turn them over to foreign interests."
We are not shutting down businesses by not bailing them out. They are going under fairly and squarely. Folks are not buying their product.

I believe that there are last minute policies that the President is attempting to implement in order to make it difficult for the incoming administration to follow thru on their promises to the American citizens. There is a total shroud of secrecy in the disbursement of bailout funds. The picture is all wrong! Initially, Citigroup wanted to takeover some assets of Wachovia. Then, Wells Fargo and Citigroup get into a contractual tug-of-war. Wells Fargo wins the tug-of-war. Now, Citigroup is in trouble. Another ex., JP Morgan is in trouble... Wait. Was that Bear Steans? What did I just hear? Now, JP takes over Bear Stearns. Is this musical banks? There's something to this story that's missing; something wrong w/this picture.

84.000 foreclosures last week.
Say it slow and try to visualize 84.000 houses and the families that lived in them.
Along with all the bailouts.
I think the America people who have been so hurt through no fault of their own would like to see these sub-prime crooks rounded up and sent to Guantanamo Bay without representation.
They have perpetrated an act of economic terrorism against America that Osama Bin Laden would have loved to have taken credit for.
Their names are on those fraudulent mortgages,
"Round them up"

Larry Thanks for a little levity tonight...Saturday Night Clip of 'The Big Three'. Laughter sure does work during our critical economic crisis.

My two cents worth: Originally Labor Unions were created to represent the worker. During the 'Restructuring Economic Years' of Reagan our industries (Financial Institutions, Auto Companies, Airlines...to mention yet another 'big three' were at the beginning stages of international commerce. At that time attention was diverted away from 'Mainstream America'. We need to embrace both and not polarize ourselves further into hole we can't crawl out of.

I had worked at unionized grocery chain during their restructuring of a new contract. Along with several other 'new hirers', I paid my lifetime union dues up front hoping that after 13 months I would be eligible for healthcare benefits. Another contract was coming up for renegotiation
and low and behold no health insurance.

What I had learned is that there are many players involved with big industry. It is not just the union (who I believe try to negotiate for fair wages and healthcare); there's also The Company Store. They need their fair representation as well. It’s a package that’s suppose to work for everyone’s benefit

I think it's a bit pollyanic to believe there are any quick fixes. It took us a long time to get in this mess and it will certainly take very careful restructuring again. There’s no easy solution.

Thanks
Melinda

The answer to the economic crisis is cheap labor!
It would be socialism to expect a $20 + million dollar a year executive to pay a living wage for a housekeeper or for that same $20 + million dollar a year executive to pay more, just because he enjoys more of what this society has to offer.

POWER TO THE UNDER PAID CEO'S!!!!!

The car companys Have lots of assets. Like they can sell thier jets. keep a couple. They can sell there cars with big discounts. Spend less on partys and conventions. I'm on social security. Iknow how to budget my income which is less than and 1.000.00 a month. Why are the people letting them get away with mismanagement. NO WE DON'T WANT TO HELP THEM OUT. Banks are differant. THey got caught with there pants down. Didn't pay attention to the number and yes housing , gas , yea. Like anything else you ntighten there belt take less in pay. And they should be ok. No one will be sleeping in the street and allies if they have to restucture. I seen all the cars sitting in lots. sell them cheap. Ok yea you are have been living beyong your means. SUCK IT YOU.

Laisez Faire Capitalism.
Simple, Clean and ultimately, Fair

Obama – will find a way...

and we will too!

Posted by Adrian,
"We are not shutting down businesses by not bailing them out. They are going under fairly and squarely. Folks are not buying their product."

Adrian, is it the American Auto Industry's fault that the economy has fell so fast that our own President or Mr. Paulson didn't see it coming.
People are not buying cars from GM or your beloved foreign mfg.'s.
Are you forgetting that GM was selling more cars than any other company. Apparently they were building cars that people wanted.

Kindly, Voice of the People

Regarding the bailouts, there appears to be bias and preferential treatment shown by congress, the current republican administration and the media toward wallstreet. I have not heard the same level of demands and criticism exhibited toward the banks and AIG that I have heard toward the auto industry. I am fed up with the continued special treatment wall street is getting. They got us into this mess in the first place.

Where is their plan for future success? What about their corporate jets, huge salaries and undeserved bonuses? What is in writng to assure accountability for their bailouts?

There is a difference between "white collar" and "blue collar" bailout requirements. At least the auto industry provides jobs, health care and retirement benefits to millions of hard working people. If they go under, tax payers will have to pick up these costs.

We must have full accountability for all bailouts, loans, etc. involving tax payers money. Obviously the free market is not free afterall!!!

Georgia

The 1st Stimulus package.

Let's see if I have it correct.

The USA Government borrows money from China to stimulate the American ecomony, by sending tax payers a check for them to spend.

The American tax payer gets the check, goes to Wal-Mart and spends the money for products made in China. Putting Chinese labor to work.

Whose economy are we trying to stimulate!!

THE ANSWER IS MORE FREE TRADE11111
LONG LIVE WAL-MART

Unions are not the total answer anymore, actually they were never the total answer! It is going to be hard to expect a union autoworker to take a cut from his/her +45/hr job, when the CEO's are coming away with golden parachutes in the multi-million dollar neighborhood, where is that neighborhood?

Peter,
As I understand it the UAW did take a big cut in wages and restructured their health insurance, in their last contract.

Larry, If they took the 700billion Dollars last week and gave $75'000 to 100 million people who earn under $50'000 a year to spend anyway they want the econemy would have stimulated itself over night, They would had bought from A to Z, They would recieve a gov check to be deposited in there bank of choice and they would recieve a checkbook good for 90 days to use theese checks anywhere in the USA, This also includes all welfare recfipiants, after there money is gone they would have to reaply, that would take the able working people off the welfare and unemployment rolls,

Larry, As for Gm, Chrysler, & Ford, Split up every model to be sold to privat people in all 50 states, let us own a piece of the American dream, Talk about infrastructure, You would employ auto workers all over the whole country, Monoply was supposed to be illeagal, How did they get away with this for so long, This way if one model cant make it someone else would buy it and try, And as for Fuel, Ship theese Autos around the country by Rail not trucks, Infrastructure, Build a Railway system like a grid criss cross every 100 miles across this country, Then the Hyways wont be that busy to fix our bridges,

I, too, am totally opposed to any bailout of the Big Three, or the banks for that matter. However, I am also a realist. That being said, I am afraid that if we allow the automakers to fail, we will suffer terribly with major job losses and not to mention all the other sectors of our economy that is linked to the auto trade. I believe that we must help the automakers, with the stipulation that the CEO's and senior management limit their compensation to a level that is acceptable to the taxpayers. Something in the neighborhood of not to exceed twice the pay of the President of the United States. If this is unacceptable to them, no bail-out.

"Fuel" provides a clear picture of what real change in the oil and auto industries could actually look like. Create GREEN jobs, good for both the people and the environment.

As a small business owner that provides a service to other small businesses I am wondering why there's no talk of providing some relief to us. I am sure that the SBA has provided many companies loans that are now in danger of default. Small community banks should have received some relief to assist the life blood of our economy. Bailing out these large banks and the auto industry will provide some band aid. However, a stimulus package for the SBA to pump the little guy who have put their life savings into their business would really provide some permanent solutions. The big joke about Joe the Plumber is not so funny right now. Sam the store owner is closing his doors every day.

For several weeks now, talking about bailing out the auto industry, you have had many top economists on your show. Either I am stupid and can't figure it out, or you have a bunch of idiots on your show. Why should the American public bail out the three largest auto industries? Let them borrow the 25 billion dollars from the oil companies that have profited in billions of dollars in the last year. 25 billion that would be lent to the auto industry from the oil companies is a drop in the bucket to them. Noone is talking about going to the oil industry to borrow the money. We, the taxpayer, in the last five months, have seen gas prices go from $2.25 to $4.95 per gallon. Let's really go and sit down and talk to the oil companies and get them to give the money to the auto industry. They go hand in hand.

Why not make a committment to

a) force the three to restructure by allowing them to go bankrupt.
AND
b) bailing out the workers who will be laid off. Let us use this BAILOUT to help "we the people" . Provide them the safety net of unemployment wages, pay their health insurance and their mortgage payments. Train them and relocate them in new jobs that are going to be created (refering here to the 1.2 million new jobs that will be created). I don't understand why bailout seems to only refer to corporations instead of the humans that work for them.

Ok...Lets make sense out of this...the money never trickled down the 1st time..why give it to them again? Why not give each tax paying household a portion of that $700 billion, let us pay off or pay down our home loans, car loans and credit cards...the banks get their money back....it goes back into circulation, people start buying again and jobs will again need to be filled. The hot shots need to know that most people don't want to go bankrupt or not make their payments on time, or live off the government...however, bad things happen to good people and a loss of a job or a devastating illness can ruin even the best credit ratings...and then the $$ people hold it against you and hold you up with higher credit ratings for years on end which makes your payments higher than anyone elses and cuts your extra income to the quick when all you are trying to do is keep going. Quit helping the people that are holding up the american people...instead help the people get back on their feet!!! and the rest will fall into place.

Don't know where this goes? But...Comment on tonights comment...re: taxing middle class! I assume I'm middle class...I'm widowed, alone...struggling now...wasn't struggling in the last 6 years of my widowhood! My salary is 80M+ but, alas I'm a Citgroup employee for 28+ years! So, my 401K and retirement will be delayed...and just got my gas bill...was on a budget paying $175 a month...just got my closing bill for $1900((&w$&(w&*$#

What kind of budget is that...what is going on? I was comfortable once upon a time...no longer!!! Plus...gas prices are going down...why is it still $2.43 by me?

Thank you!!

Here is one other thought....Just got letter in the mail today. My home mortgage is with GMAC...guess what...they have sold it to another mortgage company....they say they have all rights to do this as this is standard practice...however, I asked before I signed and they said they never........ever......sell off their mortgages to other companies. Oh yes, and when I called their customer service department about it and requested they not sell it off I was to talk to a supervisor and instead they hung up on me!! Great way to run their business.

So if Unions need to be a large part of the upcoming business wold does this constitute a total unionization in the USA? Meaning that every american worker belongs to a union. This is the exact balance of power that is needed in the business world. Balance of power is the key to the american system and without the the system fails

I am so tired of everybody trying so hard to undo all the damage that the current administration has done but nobody has even mentioned the one thing that we need to do that should act as a deterrent for future administrations and that is to IMPEACH GEORGE W BUSH!!!! Surely his actions have earned him an impeachment proceeding much more than Clinton's immoral acts!!! Tell me, which action has hurt this country more, Bush's destruction of our credability in the world and the economic disaster to our own country or Clinton's messing around with some bimbo in his office??? What's immoral is that Bush is still causing major destruction and then will just walk away free and clear!! What the heck is wrong with this picture?? Is everybody nuts in Washington???? Thanks for letting me vent.

Auto industry is not responsible for the recent economic disaster but Wall Street is the main culprit.

Why is there so much scrutiny of Auto Industry and absolutely none for Wall Street? Why are we, congress and general media so willing to help Wall Street and so critical of Auto Industry which is the biggest employer?

Joseph Amirkhas

Everyone in the auto industry mess has to not give a LITTLE but to give a LOT, starting with the exec,s, then the unions, if they want to stay competitive in the market, whether you like it or not they have to be bailed out with REPAYABLE loans and restructured as there are to many good people involved. The exec's need to take a cue from Lee Iacocca, and reduce their salary to $1.00 a year until they pay back the money

I am considered middle class and with the rising cost of food, it's to the point that I cannot afford Campbell Soup. The citizens of the U.S. is footing the bill for all of the failures of banks. It is not the taxpayers fault. In 2005 is when all of this started. I was forced to sell my home so I would not get in a financial bind. The gov't is giving financial assistance to banking instiituions with tax payers money, only for the taxpayers to suffer twice, the giving and receiving. Who is going to help us? We have people who is starving that was middle class citizens....

Larry,
Why are we calling this a recession? With all the money being handed out that doesn't exist, it would appear this is more like a depression. Our economy for several years has been getting drastically out of hand. At some point, things that have worked themselves into failure need to fail. That is the only way we can re-establish value and begin to build our economy on a strong footing. Even the majority of local governments are overleveraged and raising taxes just to cover wages and bond issues. This should be illegal especially with the declining value of the homes. Let them file banruptcy if they can't service their debt. I feel we are taking a mojor step toward socialism. This is sad because Capitalism is a wonderful thing, but greed isn't.

The solution is very simple; but why shoul I assist the entrenched government Mafia do whayt must be done? Politicins anf Corruption go together just like pork goes with beans ot rock goes with roll.

The action should have been effectuated years ago, but the same result can still be obtained.

If asked, or if obama wants help all he has to do is ask. If politicians are only looking what they get out of what they do,
I am not interested in hlping

Hi Larry, I can't believe the woman you had on your show saying the union contracts are one of the big 3 problems.Look at the fat cats of these corperations look how they live.They send our jobs out of the country and bring parts back in from .50 cents a hour to 3.00 a hour jobs and still jack the price on autos up for the big profit.The people working there don't get a share on all of it.
No they(CEO"S)have nice huge saleries I'd probably say 6 to 7 digits.What one of the biggest mistakes we made was NAFTA.It needs to killed.The big 3 have Way to many white collars that could be cut. One plant I know has 7 supervisors to 22 employees over 2 shifts.Thats smart management.Its not Union contracts that caused thier problem,Its GREED and POOR Management.

Is it true that Obama has hired an undercover lawyer type organization to dwell into the possible war crimes that can be uncovered to prosecute the current president of the United States before Mr. Bush gets away scott clean & so conveniently disappears?