GMs jets have been returned.

 

even thought they are penuts compared to the real problem...

 

Wasn't pandering to poeples short sighted stupidity and concentrating on trucks and SUVs a big part of their problem, and your solution is to pander to more stupidity and stop using their jet even if it costs them more money?

 

What part of "perception is reality" is not getting through?

Stupid is as stupid does and it was stupid to fly into DC on private jets so that you could go to Congress and beg for taxpayer money.

 

I defiantly agree that any deal with the government is somewhat like a deal with the devil. However, as my former employer, AIG isn't afraid of anyone and they are well equipped to take on Washington. Look at this stock deal from another angle. They know that regulators will come in and there will be some changes proposed once they find out how close AIG straddles the lines of business ethics. But I seriously doubt that the government will do what it takes to "fix" that because it works well and the taxpayers have a vested interest in getting our money back. How best to control the government than to make them their top shareholder. Now the US Govt. has an interest the performance of the collateral stock. AIG makes money by playing close to the fire and the government might now want to play like that but now they'll have almost no choice, if they ever want to get their money back. –Purely my somewhat educated conjecture.

As for the Domestic 3; I really thought they would have gone to Washington with everything they had. This was their big day in court so to speak. I thought they would have gone in and put on a show Lee Iacocca would be proud of. This was their chance to get it all out there and really hammer home all of their problems and burdens of being a staple of American industry. They could have taken the road that they have kept millions of Americans fed, healthy and happy while putting their kids through college for a century. But they went in there far too timid and yet their tone almost felt like the government owed them anyway and so they seemed to want to hide the details about how they got into this situation.
I felt so underwhelmed with what I saw and heard. Washington hasn't always been good to the car companies and this was their chance to get that and their story out there with the hopes that a bailout can help them get back to prominence. It's like they walked in already defeated and yet thought that if they simply asked, the government would give in.

 

Yeah - you and me both. As Lee Iacocca titled his recent book - "Where Have All The Leaders Gone?"

 

What part was stupid? It has been gone over and proven that it made perfect financial sense in addition the various other benifits from it. The part that doens't make sense is why everyone is so angry that they made such a logical decision. If this is enough for people to say that they need to fail and take the rest of our economy with them, then we're all bonned.

 

This is the exact type of thinking that is so far removed from the issue it is ridiculous. If they had flown first class, the media and congress would have said why did you fly coach. If they had flown in coach, the media might mention how wasteful it was that multiple people made the trip with him instead of just the CEO. Maybe they would make fun of the fact that their rental was from AVIS instead of budget.

Instead, all I hear about from people who want to talk about the bailout is corporate jets. How about actually talking about the problems that the company and the country are facing??? No, the facts about how much money would be wasted on flying a commercially aren't what the public wants to hear about. All they care about are corporate jets.

You know, I think it would have been good for these CEO's to fly commercially next time, have the flight delayed a few hours because of mechanical problems, or the flight is overbooked, or gets canceled, and be 2 hours late for their meeting with congress. I think that would be a much better situation because they were trying to fly commercially. This is a failure of the media and of congress to focus on one issue. One issue that has nothing to do with why the big 3 are having problems. I can't pretend to know what these CEO's travel schedules are. I can't tell you when the last time they took a flight. What I can tell you is, that is wasn't a problem then. Actually, I can tell you that the CEO of Ford flies home on the weekend to Seattle, using that jet. Now flying to congress, it is a problem.

These flights are not like the corporate parties and retreats that are happening at some of the financial industry giants that have had huge problems and have secured a 700 billion dollar bailout. These flights were for legitimate business reasons. Why the focus is on this is ridiculous. This isn't a story.

 

Again I ask, what part of "perception is reality" do you not understand?

If you guys can't understand how incredibly stupid it was for Larry, Curly and Mo to show up in private jets to beg for taxpayer money because their companies are so poor; then I can only assume you guys don't understand because you simply refuse to do so.

 

So in your opinion they would have been better off paying slighter more money that they don't have to look like they were saving money, then actually doing what fiscaly made sense? That would have improved your opinion of them?

 

Does any of this really surprise anyone. All anyone talks about are non-issues but stories that are sensationalized to become issues.
In the last few weeks of the election about half the coverage was about how the GOP spent $150k on Sarah Palin. The real issues that confront this nation are however ignored for the most part.

I blame the 'dumb down' american attitude that is more interested in Paris Hilton or the playboy bunnies then they are about the Secretary of State or the majority leaders in Congress. The things that can really have an effect on their lives are too boring for them I guess.

While the bickering of corporate jets goes on, the US economy and millions of jobs are inching closer and closer to the edge of a cliff of this mountain we are falling off of.

 

Clearly I'm not getting through to you am I?

Have a nice weekend.

 

Is it true that insurance wont let executives fly public and only a certial small number can be on the same plane?

 

The same could be said to you, you are ignoring facts.

Since it would have cost more money to take commercial transportation, it doesn't make any sense for them to take commercial transportation. Then the media and congress say who foolish and not fiscally responsible these guys are and don't deserve any loans.

Regardless if they get the loan or not, these guys are set for life already. They aren't exactly begging so they can have more fuel for the jet. They are trying to do something because they care about the peoples jobs who are on the line. Congress and the media are focusing on jets while the economy is already in pretty bad shape.

THAT IS THE REALITY OF THIS SITUATION.

YOUR PERCEPTION IS NOT REALITY.

 

The reality of the situation is that the facts don't matter - this is politics; you apparently don't(or won't) understand that and it appears that the three CEOs don't either.