For Grady.

In my Ask Me Anything post, Grady asked me the following question(s):

give me your opinion on what is better vmware or xencenter? Just kidding, what
do you think of the GM ordeal? Do you think our tax dollars would have been
better spent if they would have just giving each american family money and told
them they had to buy a american vehicle with it instead of wasting it away?

Firstly, let me just say that I'm glad you were just kidding about vmware and xencenter. I had to Google both words just to know what the heck you were talking about, and I'm still sitting here with a look of complete ignorance on my face. There was no way I was talking, er writing, my way out of that one. Ctrl, Alt, Del is about as technical as I get.

So, to answer your second and third questions - here goes.

What do I think of the GM ordeal? I think it sucks. Here are my reasons:

1. I currently own a Saturn that I purchased back in December of last year. I received a letter from the Saturn dealership where we purchased the car telling me that the dealerships close to us were closing down. While I'm still able to get my car serviced at any GM dealership - the ones that stay open, that is - it's a tad bit disconcerting to be sitting on a car loan that is probably so flipped I'll never be able to get any value out of my car if we ever trade or sell. Thankfully, we purchased a car that will work for our family for many years (Outlook).
2. If the dealerships are closing down, people lose their jobs. If the plants are closing down, people lose their jobs. If corporate is down-sizing, people lose their jobs. These people have children and mortgages and bodies that need to be fed. If they have no income, how can they buy little Susie's backpack or pay Countrywide for their loan or put dinner on the table at night? What's worse is that I'm sure that many of them had a considerable amount of their savings tied up in GM stock. We know what happened there. I can't imagine how hopeless they feel.
3. Cars that have been every American male's wet dream since the beginning of time are going to be phased out (Camaro, Corvette). Apparently 7 MPG is a bad thing? My husband needed a sedative the other night once he found out they weren't going to be introducing the new Camaro.

Your final question: Do you think our tax dollars would have been better spent if they would have just giving each american family money and told them they had to buy a american vehicle with it instead of wasting it away?

Half of the people in America aren't responsible enough or honest enough to spend the money on an American vehicle and the other half wouldn't allow the government to dictate which vehicle they should or shouldn't drive (although it seems we're headed in that direction anyway with the new green movement).

Regardless of the Government's final decision, it's a lose-lose. By bailing out GM, they're setting a precedent for other corporations. Mismanage? No problem, we'll bail you out. By not bailing out GM, how many more thousands of people would lose jobs? How much of an impact would that have on our economy? We're going to pay for it either way.