(This is a FAX sent to Anna Eshoo on 2008.Dec.12.)

In my opinion, the proper function of a vehicle manufacturer, such as
General Motors, is to manufacture vehicles and sell them, not to
collect cash handouts from the government. Accordingly it's not
appropriate for the government to give them a handout.

If the government wants to keep General Motors in business, the
government should directly buy about half the vehicles already
manufactured and currently in stock, and put them into good use:
- At times of day when public transit, such as BART, is over-full,
   hire otherwise unemployed people to drive the government
   vehicles to provide shuttle service in parallel with public
   transit. Have these shuttle vehicles lined up at public-transit
   (BART) stations waiting to collect riders for a non-stop ride to
   whatever station has the largest number of riders wanting to go
   there. As soon as that vehicle is full, it drives off and the
   next vehicle pulls up to take another group of riders to
   whatever station has the largest remaining number of people
   wanting to go there. The fare charged would be the same as if
   the public transit had been taken.
- At all reasonable times, commute-overload or otherwise,
   connections would be provided between these major connection
   stations and outlying points, whereever regular bus service
   isn't available, and to supplement between runs of low-frequency
   bus service.
- Government employees would be strongly encouraged to use public
   transit to/from work, including these new services listed above,
   by social pressure, and by providing special carpools from the
   employee's home or office (depending on direction of commute),
   to the nearest major transfer point, picking up as many other
   regular riders as can be arranged along the way, then picking up
   enough regular passengers to fill the vehicle, then non-stop to
   the other end of the overloaded BART or whatever, then
   distribute the various employees to their various work or home
   destinations. Thus the vehicle would run not-all-full only near
   the beginning and ending of each one-way trip. Depending on
   availability of people having similar trips, the vehicle may be
   already full before it reaches the BART station and just bypass
   it for a more direct route or may have just one rider from
   home/office to BART station and pick up all the rest of riders
   at the station.
- Some vehicles, such as vans and busses, could be loaned to
   regular public transit agencies rather than managed directly by
   the Federal government as outlined above.
- Note that only enough vehicles would be purchased, and used as
   described above, to keep General Motors or other automobile
   company in business without financial loss, not enough to give
   them a profit. Before any purchase whatsoever would occur,
   various concessions would be required such as resignation of CEO
   of General motors, reduction of pay-rate for all other
   executives and employees, cancellation of all bonuses, and
   cecessation of dividends to stockholders. When the economy
   improves well enough that the auto company can sell vehicles to
   ordinary consumers, some of the government-purchased vehicles
   would be converted to be sold as pre-owned vehicles. Only when
   the last of the government-purchased vehicles have been sold
   would the company have the concessions cancelled so that they
   can once again operate as a normal corporation with profit given
   as bonuses and dividends to stockholders and pay raises etc.

The above purchase of vehicles would provide immediate income to
prevent General Motors from going bankrupt in about two weeks.

Over the longer term, the Federal government should re-establish
itself as employer of last resort, similar to the "New Deal" and the
WPA (Works Progress Administration). The people hired to drive the
government-purchased vehicles as proposed above would be just a small
part of this program. In addition would be public works
(infrastructure) projects such as repair of roads/highways, public
transit such as BART extension to San Jose, and work on "green" (low
carbon emission and efficient) conversions. To the maximum degree
possible, otherwise-unemployed people should be hired at minimum wage,
in order to maximize the number of people that have employment for a
given amount of money spent in wages. I would rather see fifteen
non-experienced people hired at minimum wage, or thirty people hired
half-time each at minimum wage, and three supervisors hired to train
them and watch them carefully, rather than hire ten experienced people
at higher wage. In addition, subsidized low-income housing should be
provided much more than it is currently, so that people working at
minimum wage don't need to be homeless.

I have no respect for the Reagan/Bush doctine of "trickle down", where
taxes are cut for the richest people in the **hope** they will hire
people. I'd rather adopt the "trickle up" doctrine, whereby *everyone*
is given paid work, and their money trickles up through local
retailers then through wholesalers to manufacturers. If everyone had a
regular income, some of them would be able to purchase automobiles,
and the auto manufcturers wouldn't need so large a bailout.

Additional (forgot to include in original FAX):

When purchasing vehicles, especially in states such as California
that have special problems with air pollution, lean toward purchasing
"green" vehicles instead of high-polluting vehicles. Thus more than
half of the already-manufactured "green" vehicles and less than half
of the other vehicles would be purchased, totalling half of all the
in-stock vehicles.