In a rare show of political unity - driven, most likely, by almost unifom voter disgust - it seems as if both Democrats and Republicans alike do not have the stomach to turn over $20+ billion to the simpletons who run the Big Three auto industries.
Lots of good stuff out there....for openers, how bad was the business proposal they submitted to Congress?
GM's "recovery" plan would be lucky to earn a C at a respectable business college. And what little substance it offers, the company is in no position to actually deliver.
For now, anyway, GM says it needs to borrow the original $12 billion by March, just to keep operating, but wants access to another $6 billion line of credit just in case the economy gets even worse. Just in case?
The rest of the proposal is rife with typical Detroit fantasy:
* GM presumes that the auto industry, which is expected to see sales fall to 12 million units in 2009, will bounce back to sell 15 million units by 2012. What's the basis for that hope?
* It insists that it will make its labor costs "competitive" with those of transplants like Toyota and Honda by 2012. One small problem - the United Auto Workers has agreed to no such thing.
The New York Post has a classic headline: Bush to Detroit: Rust in Peace!
....President Bush joined hardworking New Yorkers to oppose throwing "good money after bad."
"No matter how important the autos are to our economy, we don't want to put good money after bad,"....
"In other words, we want to make sure that the plan they develop is one that ensures their long-term viability for the sake of the taxpayer," Bush told NBC News.
"But in order for them to get any help from Congress, they are going to have to prove that . . . taxpayer money will be repaid and that they will be competitive."
The president said it's "yet to be determined" whether any bailout would be a good investment for taxpayers.
SOme shocking skepticism too from lawmakers who usually can't wait to give away taxpayer cash:
"I suspect any sensible banker would summarily dismiss your request," said Sen. Richard Shelby (D-Ala.).
"I worry that, left on their own, they will be back a short time later asking for more," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).
Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli was accused of seeking $7 billion just to tide over his company before it could be sold off.
"You want to hang around long enough so you can date somebody and hopefully get married soon before you run out of money," said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).
Of course, there is always hypocrisy when politicians are involved:
Last summer, Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey joined his Democratic colleagues in piling $85 billion in new regulatory costs on the Detroit Three by mandating a 40-percent fuel-efficiency increase by 2020.
At this afternoon’s Senate Banking Committee hearings, Casey — unapologetic for his role in burdening the industry now before him seeking a handout — demanded quick passage of $34 billion in taxpayer money to save the Detroit companies from bankruptcy. Casey moaned about the economic devastation an auto company failure would visit on his state.
Last fall, Barack Obama stood with striking UAW workers in Kansas City to oppose a new labor agreement that industry executives said was necessary to survive....
Clearly, these men have no clue that their actions have consequences.
Yeah, wait until they force the automakers to accept government oversight of their business. By the same geniuses as mentioned above, to boot. The UAW all become government employees, the Big Three becomes wards of the state, prohibitive taxes are passed on foreign automobiles, and Americans are stuck with overpriced, poor quality, undersized and politically correct crapmobiles.
Courage, little Congressman....
No comments:
Post a Comment