Obama: Auto industry collapse would be 'a disaster' (Obama displays his business ignorance)

cnn ^ | 11/16/2008 | cnn

[tobyhill]

The potential collapse of the auto industry would be "a disaster" amid today's economic crisis, President-elect Barack Obama told CBS' "60 Minutes" in a wide-ranging interview airing Sunday.

"It's my belief that we need to provide assistance to the auto industry," Obama tells veteran correspondent Steve Kroft, according to excerpts released by CBS. "But I think that it can't be a blank check."

The Senate is expected to vote this week on emergency loans to the auto industry, though the measure faces strong opposition from many Republicans.

The bill would authorize loans to the auto industry from the Treasury Department's $700 billion fund to bail out the financial services industry.

Detroit auto executives are scheduled to plead their case in public hearings in the House and Senate.

[tobyhill]

The $25 billion approved was to retool their factories in order to make cars that get 40 mpg which no one will buy because they will still be an average of $2300 more than foreign competition.

[Nathan Zachary]

"We need to start getting the word out that unions spent more than $400 million to elect Obama. The people need to know why Obama wants to rescue this industry. Post anywhere you can to get this word out to the sheeple."

Unions have been spending that, and more on political activism for decades. So far, no Republican government has passed a law prohibiting this forced collection of union dues from members who do not support the democrat party. It's been posted and written about to death- to no avail.

[jwalsh07]

We’ve all got to get everyone we know to call our congresscritters and Senators to tell them Heck, NO to the auto bailout! And if they DO insist on the auto bail out that we as Americans will not buy autos from the rescued car companies....I’ve always bought American made but no more!

Same here, I've crossed the Rubicon on that one. No more and I never thought I would say that but I'm not subsidizing union spending of 300 million against conservatives any more. Enough!

[Nathan Zachary]

I thought that 25 billion was for GMAC to sell o%financing for car sales, although we know it went to pay debt on health care benifits.

It’s long gone, and so will anyfuture bail out money vanish before out eyes as they continue to bleed over a billion a day.

[ari-freedom]

one problem I have is that if you have a car from the Big 3, how would you be able to get service for it if they go broke?

[ari-freedom]

there should be a “Union NO!” sticker

[The Duke]

I conducted a little informal research today. It looks like a fair estimate that there is about a $10 charge against every tax return filed for every $1 billion spent by the government.

So, for example, the $700 billion bailout would cost each filer roughly $7000. Since the actual bailout amount has been estimated, to date, to be about $2.2 trillion (what I've heard), that translates into something like $21,000 per filer.

[jwalsh07]

one problem I have is that if you have a car from the Big 3, how would you be able to get service for it if they go broke?

I have 4 and I don't give a crap.

[nospin2244]

Why not bail out the oil companies too. The price of crude oil dropped from $147 to $56. Oh, the horror.

[stockpirate]

Thanks to McCain and Bush he was also able to say “conservatives” as well as liberals support doing what ever it takes.

[SMCC1]

They need to let them fail and stay out of it. If they give them loans, there’s sure to be “strings attached” which is government intervention into the private sector
(AGAIN). There will be no end to it.

[ari-freedom]

yeah because you have 4. If you had only 1 and depend on it for work, there could be an issue.

[Wisconsinlady]

I agree. I used to think it was patriotic to buy only American cars, but won’t anymore if they pass this fiasco. Besides, Biden enlightened me that the only way to show my patriotism is to pay more taxes and shut up, right?

[television is just wrong]

yeah, we are.

it will take decades if ever to straighten out this mess.

[balls]

John Batchelor is talking about this on http://www.wabcradio.com/

[jwalsh07]

Spoken like a true liberal. My cars all have hundreds of thosuands of miles on them. Cripes, I can’t escape the liberal shit even here at FR.

[jas3]

Get 'em HERE.

[The_Reader_David]

Well, he’s a leftist. Of course he is clueless about how economics actually works!

I will concede there may be a small minority among the left who are there only out of sheer wickedness, who do understand how economic works, but advocate unworkable things precisely because they know they will fail. Personally I supect Obama is of the wicked *and* clueless variety.

[N. Theknow]

one problem I have is that if you have a car from the Big 3, how would you be able to get service for it if they go broke?

The same way people get parts and service on cars the Big 3 no longer make parts for or provide service or support.

Been years since Ford made a Model T, but you can get parts and any mechanic worth his salt can work on one.

[Kenny]

Yes, but I can’t stand to see Obama acting sooo concerned about the people who would be out of work when this is nothing more than payback for funding his campaign.

I guarantee you that when I talk to people at work, no one will know how much the auto industry gave to Obama, much less $400 million. I am just saying, we need to let them know what their tax dollars are really going for. The MSM won’t do it.

If we let him start making bold moves supported by bogus motives, it will only get worse. Now is the time to shed some daylight on this whole sordid relationship.