Re In Car Nation?

The CEO of Ford says he'll work for a buck. And the CEO's of Chrysler and GM are saying the same thing. Great. That'll buy them each a half gallon of gas and keep them from flying not only in private jets but from flying at all. Even in America, rich beggars are ugly. Those guys need to do more sitting in their driveways or walking to work, as it is.

But still, a dollar a year for the three heads of Motown is just a rather empty, symbolic gesture. These companies have thousands of upper management guys who don't want to suffer for any reason, symbolic or otherwise. But obviously, these dinosaur makers all need to take a cut, from top to bottom, yes CEO to janitor. How about starting with 15% across the board? I mean, it is a recession, and for collars blue and white, a "decent" job is better than no job.

Then, anyone making over $200,000 a year takes another 15% cut in pay, effective immediately, long before any taxpayer bailout cash comes in. Everyone, and no one gets a raise for at least two years. Show some backbone. Show some dedication (besides greed) to making these antiquated automobiles.

Toyota and Honda and BMW are not so top-heavy in top brass. Their management to labor ratios are considerably better than those of "the big three." Toyota, Honda and BMW are not asking for a bailout. They're already building better cars than the competition. And isn't capitalism based on the premise that competition (among well-run companies) brings us the best products for the money?

Any bailout money comes from hundreds of thousands of American taxpayers who earn a heck of a lot less than $200,000 or even $80,000 a year. No way should the lower middle class pay for the bloated salaries and the audacious righteousness of the rich.