Capital Costs Money Too

I read with interest the discussions about whether or not GM's and Ford's recent quarterly results announcements will hurt them as they enter negotiations with the UAW and will, no doubt, be looking for conciliatory contracts. (You can see some here.) A couple of comments:

1. A look at the results indicates that North American operations are still loss-making for both Ford and GM. The fact that both companies are making profits overseas is not any kind of argument that their North American cost structures aren't still out of whack.
2. (and more importantly) Hard work deserves to be compensated properly; there's no doubt about that. No company can survive without its workers. But, neither can it survive without capital to enable its expansions and fund its strategy. Just like workers who give their time to the company need to be paid, so do the investors that give their money to the company need to paid. Profits are how that happens, and if they are no profits, there is no capital. No jobs and no wages aren't far behind.