Bail THIS out, buddy!!!

Here's an interesting little morsel of automotive industry information to digest, courtesy of Stephen Spruiell of National Review magazine...

"GM employees who don’t opt for a buyout or early-retirement package will qualify for GM’s supplemental unemployment benefits, meaning that GM will make up the difference between their former wages and their state unemployment checks. When the unemployment checks run out, GM will pay these workers 95 percent of their former wages for up to two years, depending on seniority. Workers with at least ten years of seniority are eligible for the Job Opportunity Bank Security program. This is the notorious jobs bank that allows laid-off workers to receive their regular hourly pay while sitting around doing crossword puzzles or reading the paper. If GM offers these employees an opportunity to transfer to another plant, they have the right to turn down a limited number of such offers. And if no offer is made, they can stay in the jobs bank until they retire. GM currently has around 1,400 workers nationwide in the jobs bank."

Um... WOW! So, while Ford says thanks, but no thanks, to the "opportunity" to sell their soul to the federal government, General Motors, not exactly efficiently-run financially based on the above reading, and privately-held Chrysler (owned by an investment firm... NAMED AFTER THE HOUND OF HELL, FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!) continue to stand on the corner, cup in hand. If the ten years and 180,000 miles I've gotten out of my Mustang (so far) hadn't already convinced me, the panhandling of GM and Chrysler has cemented it... when it comes time to buy a new car, I'll have a shiny, new Ford in my driveway.