"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Eric" wrote:

"
were doing so because the Government told them to.
More Republican lies. The government regulations say the banks have to
demonstrate that they are
willing to write loans for "disadvantaged groups" (minorities etc.) as much
as for non-disadvantaged
groups. They had two options to do this: write more high-risk loans to
members of disadvantaged
groups, or write fewer loans to members of non-disadvantaged groups. Because
the first option was
more profitable (short-term), that's what they chose, and now we've seen the
results.
So, in otherwords, they followed the government's instructions
and got beat up for it. Seems like same outcome to me.
Not at all. The government mandated that specific requirements had to be met, *how* to meet the
requirements was left to the banks, and they had a number of options. Many banks chose an option
that was not in their long-term interest and suffered because of it. Other banks, which chose other
options, are still healthy.


Wa-huh? Sorry, I call BS on this one too. Most of GM's competitors (Toyota,
Honda, Nissan...) have
factories and offices in the USA and therefore are subject to exactly the
SAME regulations as the
"domestic" makes. That is of course in addition to the vehicles they sell
having to meet all the
same regulatory standards such as safety, emissions, and MPG. So in that
way, the playing field is
completely level.
The competitors most have US ASSEMBLY plants. Much of the parts
that constitute the actual manufacturing are done outside the US and
outside of the regulations.
Do you have any data to support that? Not that it really matters, if Toyota can assemble a car in
the US from foreign-made parts, GM is free to do the same. Whose fault is it that they chose not
to?

Oh by the way, should we consider exactly *why* foreign car companies are assembling cars in the US?
Does the threat of import tariffs imposed by the government ring a bell?


The unions, which HAVE had a crippling effect on the domestic auto industry,
of course are not part
of the government. It's not hard to see that if the industry had been more
regulated by the
government, the unions would not have gained as much power and the picture
might be very different
right now.

Which alternative universe are you living in?
One where facts weigh more than political dogma?