Deb,<br /><br />It really does not matter what we call it.  These companies are vital to the U.S. and I think we both agree they need help.  I too do not want to see the  &quot;rank and file&quot; suffer, but the people who made the decisions which placed them where they are should.  IMHO  <br /><br />I truly believe we could have had alternative fuel vehicles years ago if that was a priority in the auto industry.  It is not.  This year&#39;s sales and profit&#39;s were always the priority. They are now paying the price for decades and decades of sins.  Don&#39;t get me wrong, I have no idea how this problem will be resolved or if it will be resolved.  I do know that with benefits the average hourly wage is at &#036;98 per hour here while in Japan it is &#036;48 per hour.  And, the cost of living is higher in Japan.  The difference is the fact that we have generations of retirees that the Big 3 are supporting.  Again, I have no solution, nor am I recommending we abandon the retirees, I just regret the shortsightedness that got use in the position.<br /><br />This is just the &quot;tip of the iceberg&quot; everyone is lining up for some kind of government loan or handout.  My own State of Nevada is already planning to ask for a few billion to bail out our school system which is one of the worst in the nation.  The mindset seems to be as long as Congress is in the mood, let&#39;s get ours.  Of course we have &quot;Dirty Harry&quot; Reid looking out for our interests.<br /><br />Oh well, let&#39;s get back to cruising.  I think they too are in for some slim times.  The &quot;my last ship is bigger than your last ship&quot; mentality has given them a lot of berths to fill each week and they are feeling the pinch right now.  On the bright side for us, fares are going through the floor.  Of course we need to be still working and able to afford the gas or airfare to get to these ships.  <img src="http://www.cruisecrazies.com/community/images/forum/tr-emoticons/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":unsure:" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" /> <br /><br />This whole thing reminds me of the traffic stop where the driver states: <b>&quot;No one was driving officer, we were all in the back seat singing&#33;&#33; </b><br /><br /><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d159/mobilemikev/isp_traffic_stop.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><br /><br />Later,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />