I harbor a perverse admiration for the Big Three CEOs who, upon getting rejected in their request for $25 billion in federal funds to subsidize the American auto industry, returned to Congress today to ask for $34 billion. But hey, they flew into Washington in private jets last time around. This time, they drove there. That's worth $9 billion more, right? If they get rejected today, perhaps they should bicycle from Michigan to DC and up the demand to $100 billion. The depressing reality is that this state subsidy of private business will probably happen because each side possesses something wanted by the other side. Detroit wants Washington's money. In return, Washington wants power (they diplomatically call it "conditions" on Capitol Hill) over Detroit. Washington doesn't know how to run a business, and the mere fact that Detroit is in DC hat-in-hand shows that they don't know how to run a business, either. They were made for each other.
This isn’t about the viability of keeping the Big Three in business. It’s all about keeping the UAW and other unions afloat with massive amounts of payback cash for their political support.
They will eat through whatever this installment of Government cash happens to be and will be back for more. It will never end. And does anybody remember that in the not so distant past, they already got a $25 billion installment?......
'A $25 Billion Lifeline for GM, Ford, and Chrysler
September 24, 2008 05:45 PM ET | Rick Newman
In Washington these days, an 11-figure expenditure barely attracts notice.
With Congress preoccupied with the massive, $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have finally secured Part One of their own federal rescue plan. A bill set to be passed by Congress and signed by President Bush as early as this weekend—separate from the controversial Wall Street bailout plan—includes $25 billion in loans for the beleaguered Detroit automakers and several of their suppliers. "It seemed like a lot when we first started pushing this," says Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, one of the bill's sponsors. "Suddenly, it seems so small."'
This next round will come with the necessary Congressional pre-conditions. Even though Detroit is building cars that Americans want (SUV’s are their hottest and most popular models), the do-gooder moonbat contingent of Congress will insist that they re-tool and build cars that Americans don’t want. Let’s call them little green boxes.
Methinks that putting lawyers, most of whom have never had a real job, in charge of telling auto makers what auto makers ought to do just doesn’t seem like a good business model.
And even though 80% of the people polled and a vast majority of communications from their constituents to the Washington elite indicate that the bail outs are not that popular, our representatives don’t seem to care because they stopped working for the people a long time ago and shifted to work for lobbies and corporations.
As a wise old philosopher once said: this country needs an enema!
Now it's $33 Billion. Fly into D.C. on a private Jetstream; $25 Billion. Drive into D.C. in a hybrid; $33 Billion. Next they ride in on bicycles and look for $45 Billion.
But don't worry. This is a 'loan'.
