Chrysler Today...GM Tomorrow?

True, but what is true in a thriving healthy economy is also true, to a lesser extent, today.

What holds value in good times looses less in bad times - to a point.

Yes, among the unemployed. The building, electrical and construction trades have been floored by this downturn. Heavy equipment operators are taking contract work outside of the US in surprising numbers. This catagory has seen decreasing capacity utilization for over two uears now, in the US. America is down to a single builder of high voltage electrical transmission hardware, Waukeshaw Electric, in Milpitas California, and I'm not sure they aren't foriegn owned. I believe there are only two in Canada but it might just be one. Look around and you'll see that businesses bidding infrastructure projects resulting from the latest stimulus bill are actually driving project costs down.

American household debt has now reached three dollars and fifty cents per dollar of GDP. What this means as a practical matter is that consumers are going to spend the next few years deleveraging in the same way that financial institutions are. Every cloud has a silver lining, but of course, the reverse is also true. Financial institutions are in the same boat but they tend to be able to suffer pain better because they spread the pain over large numbers. Only Russians, East Europeans, Asians and Africans "downsize" at the family level to do this. Americans are less likely to layoff or sell a kid to match a reduced budget with overhead. That is the equivalent.

Also, California has had non-photovoltaic solar power on line in the commercial system since 1986, look up Kramer Junction,.and a two Gw plant is being constructed today out in the Mojave. I is slowly dawning on people that stable long term prices for power is what counts. Germans, for example, pay twice the world average per Kw hour and their fossil fuel costs ( gasoline and diesel ) are among the highest in the world. Neither of those have prevented them from having a very high standard of living. The reverse is true, in fact.

JC

Keep in mind..that in the Great Depression, as in all the smaller Recessions..the bad ones...the economy looked like a stair case...each lower step would level out for a period of time..then drastically fall lower..to the next level spot...then falll off again.

I personally..and trying to take advantage of that possible seanario..and putting a bit aside at each level period.

Shrug

Gunner

No steps for you though, it was just a constant multi-decade decent, right, gummy?

How wise of you! Have you told any of your creditors that you

Get serious about making some changes, deadbeat. Less shrugging might be a good start.

Wayne

I wonder what that depression was so Great and this one sucks so bad?

Usenet trolls. During 'The Great Depression' they were busy selling pencils or apples.

Not enough of them starved to death in Hoovervilles before they spewed out children.

Gunner

First, they dined on Arnold Ziffle...

People were going hungry during the Great Depression.

---------- A follow-up of interest. The top 10 Chrysler creditors in their bankruptcy action.

Chrysler Top Ten Creditors Ohio Module Mfg. Co. $70,337,248 BBDO Detroit Inc. $58,055,133 Johnson Controls Inc. $50,312,511 Continental Automotive $46,995,802 Cummins Engine Company $43,912,930 Germersheim Spare Parts $36,231,566 Comau Inc. $32,069,462 Visteon Corp. $25,608,790 New Process Gear $19,636,149 Denso International $18,704,831

A former CEO and vice-chairman of Chrysler Robert Lutz (1986-1998) has just filed as a Chrysler creditor. He was also CEO of Exide [bankrupt] and just resigned as vice-chairman from the board of GMC.

Unka' George [George McDuffee]

------------------------------------------- He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman. Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).