Posted on 12/19/2008 7:11:00 AM PST by andrew roman
He's going to do it.
I would have wagered a kidney.
With his time in the White House dwindling away, and the Messiah waiting in the wings to fire up his own trillion dollar stimulus package, President George W. Bush has decided to dip into his bag of inexplicable tricks and live up to the "lame" half of lame duck. He is tapping the $700 billion bailout bag - the three-quarters of a trillion dollar taxpayer bailout bag-o-loot originally intended to save the banking industry - and try to make things all better for the failing American automobile industry.
I'd like to say that I can't believe it, but I do.
I knew this was coming. So did you.
From Fox News:
The federal government will enable Detroit's ailing automakers to survive a little longer by providing $17.4 billion in short-term financing, President Bush said Friday.
"Allowing the auto companies to collapse is not a responsible course of action," he said, adding that a bankruptcy was unlikely to work for the auto industry at this time and would deal "an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans" across the economy.
The low-interest loans will be drawn from the $700 billion Wall Street rescue fund, Bush said.
Of the $17.4 billion, $13.4 billion will be doled out in the next two months with another $4 billion to be added later, he said. The loans will be called back if the companies are not viable by March 31.
(Yelling at the President now)
With all due respect, Mr. President, the car companies themselves allowed this situation to manifest. It is they who have failed, sir. They have been unable remain competitive under their current models in the free market. The creative destruction of capitalism has served its purpose.
Why, then, are you not allowing the free market to be free?
It was their cacophony of failing ideas, union concessions, poor product and miserable planning that lead to this. It is not - nor should it ever be - up to the taxpayers of the United States of America to save an industry that is deserving of death by siphoning their money from them so that these failures are given new life to do it all over again.
How exactly does that responsibility lie with us, Mr. President?
And what if the Big Three do not become "viable," by whatever definition you choose to implement? How do they pay back the loan? Do you offer them another portion of the $700 billion to pay back the first?
How then do we deny the next failing industry their share of the bailout pie?
If I may amend your words ... Allowing government to interfere in the private sector in this way is not a responsible course of action.
(No longer yelling at the President)
The Big Three automakers said anew on Thursday that bankruptcy wasn't the answer, as did an official of the United Auto Workers who called the idea unworkable and even dangerous. For unions, bankruptcy could mean voided labor contracts and renegotiation of benefits. The car companies argue that no one would buy a vehicle from a bankrupt company for fear that the company might not be around to honor warranties or maintain a supply of spare parts.
The National Automobile Dealers Association also spoke out against bankruptcy "in any way shape or form, orderly or disorderly, prepackaged or unpackaged, managed or unmanaged," said spokesman Bailey Wood.
This has always been about the unions and nothing else.
Indeed, I hold a great deal of respect for this President - particularly his resolve in fighting the war against Islamo-fascist terrorists. He is a good man. But this is a colossal mistake.
There you go, unions.
Enjoy.
Merry Christmas from all of us out here.
-
bookmark
If Mercedes still owns part of Chrysler why didn’t they belly up some money.
I don’t think they do. They raped it for resources and discarded it, or so I hear.
The German company still owns 19.9 percent of Chrysler. Their current valuation of this piece is “zero.”
On August 3, 2007, DaimlerChysler completed the sale of Chrysler Group to Cerberus Capital Management. The original agreement stated that Cerberus would take an 80.1 percent stake in the new company, Chrysler Holding LLC. DaimlerChrysler changed its name to Daimler AG and retained the remaining 19.9% stake in the separated Chrysler.
How can a ownership of a company be taken away with no legal action.
Aptera, Pheonix motor cars, and zap will be the answers to the big three who have denied the public the wonderful electric car . This has been done to preserve their lucrative parts and maintenence profits which are alot lower on electric cars. Now they are paying the price and will jump on the bandwagon if the government will leave them alone!
They didn’t get much.
Just across the wire. Ford now demanding 9 Billion credit line.
The loans to the auto industry pale, in my opinion, to the bailouts that are in store for the movie moguls out in California — and those are not loans.
Does anybody remember how much the movie makers are slated to get? I thought I had heard a number around $30 million. Can anybody clarify that?
“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.” ___ P.J. O’Rourke
The federal government should stop giving money to corporations because that isn’t authorized, by the Constitution. Congress should eliminate spending which violates the 10th Amendment, including the Depts. of Education, Energy, Health & Human Services, Transportation, and Housing & Urban Development. That would cut spending by about $500 billion, per year, which is about 17% of the federal budget. Since the federal government would need less money, they would pass an across-the-board 17% income tax cut, for personal taxes. They should also decrease the highest corporate tax rate from 39% to 13%. If car companies pay less money, in federal taxes, they would decrease their prices and sell more cars. They wouldn’t need government help. They would also invest more money, to develop cars that get better mileage.
Amen to that!
Found my own answer here: http://showhype.com/story/hollywood_could_get_a_cut_of_the_bailout_los_angeles/
The movie industry is slated to get $470 million of the bailout money for projects filmed in the U.S.
How ridiculous is that?
Study Sears& Roebuck
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