Bush changes mind, may save auto giants

Politico ^ | | 12/12/08 9:36 AM EST | By MIKE ALLEN

[meandog]

Bush changes mind, may save auto giants

Facing the potential bankruptcy of iconic American firms, President Bush on Friday abandoned his longstanding objection to using using the Wall Street bailout fund to help save G.M., Ford and Chrysler.

A frustrated Republican congressional official said: "If only they had said this last week, we could have saved ourselves a full week."

Ten hours after the Senate rejected a separate lifeline for the automakers, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said in a statement it would be "irresponsible" to let the companies crash. So she said Bush will "consider other options," including the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program that Congress created for the Treasury Department in October.

"Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms," Perino said in a statement. "However, given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary – including use of the TARP program — to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers. A precipitous collapse of this industry would have a severe impact on our economy, and it would be irresponsible to further weaken and destabilize our economy at this time."

[balls]

Conveniently, all but $15 billion of the TARP money has already been earmarked - just heard this on CNBC. This must have been anticipated for a long time.

[St. Louis Conservative]

With all do respect to Bush, the GOP congresscritters need to start distancing themselves from him publicly.

[meandog]

click here for Free Republic's opinion of Worse back in 1999

[Aquinasfan]

Bush has completely lost it.

Are any of the let's-unite-behind-the-most-electable-candidate of 2000 out there?

[re_tail20]

At least the blood won’t be on the hands of the Republican Senators, just Bush

[bfh333]

Since we don't have any REAL recourse against GWB, the pissed-off masses will take it out on somebody... If you thought American cars didn't sell before, wait until the UAW bailout goes through... Consumers are going to punish the “big 3” big time... He||, their cars weren't selling before... Now bail-out mania will make sure they don't in the future...

[St. Louis Conservative]

How can Bush raid the TARP? Wouldn’t that be illegal under the terms of the TARP to have them bailout the carmakers? Would there be a conservative group or some senators or congressmen that would consider suing to block it?

[GQuagmire]

The sad part is if they go bankrupt,and busted the union, and the workers got 75% of what they make now, within two years the workers would vote the union back in.Dumbasses

[wolf78]

I guess Machiavelli was right............

Well, it has that conspiracy taste to it, doesn't it? The trick was to use policies that sounded conservative to f*ck the economy up the ass enabling a power grab by the state:

Keeping interest rates unnecessarily low (expansive monetary policy), thus creating a bubble.

Cutting taxes without cutting spending, thus creating a gigantic budget deficit.

As a result you have to raise interest rates a one point, making the bubble go "pooof" and leaving oversized companies catering to an inflated demand collapsing under the weight of their outstanding loans used to expand.

In comes the white knight and voila, behold the wonder of corporate socialism...


Even if GM shuttered its doors today and went out of business, the plant, equipment, labor, and most of all market still exist. Some other corporation would merely purchase the assets and proceed to make cars without all of the legacy costs.

Wishful thinking. There's huge overcapacity in the worldwide auto market, also who would want production lines for Hummers? GM has some things of value. The research done on the Volt. The Cadillac brand. Its overseas operations and the platforms they use there: Chevy Cruze / Opel Astra etc.

The bulk of the operation cannot be saved unless car sales go back to 17-18 million from their current 11-12. Not likely to happen over the next 2-3 years. The only hope for GM is for Chrysler to die quickly, because Chrysler is like GM minus the Cadillac brand (ok, they have Jeep), the modern research and the overseas operations and then hoping to convince investors (be it in bankrupcy or not) that while there isn't room for three, there is for two.

[Aquinasfan]

Once you lose your auto industry you will not easily get it back.

Bankruptcy means re-organization, not annihilation, as the drive-bys seem to think.

[WayneS]

You DO realize that I WAS being facetious, right?

;^)

In all seriousness I would rather NOT see the “Big 3” “solve” their problems via bank loans. That path does NOT take care of the UAW problem (which is the biggest one they face, even if it IS mostly self-inflicted). Neither does a government (read tax-payer) bail-out.

I’d rather see Chapter 11 bankrupcy for all three companies and a COMPETE reorganization of the U.S. auto industry.

[shadowgovernment]

“Excuse me but BUSH IS the globalist element.”
>>>>.............
can't be said too many times..
Bush was playing his part in moving the NWO forward..
I know how hard it is for Patriotic American’s to understand or accept but the facts are right there
just connect the dots.

[demshateGod]

“....totally cutting the legs out from under Senate Republicans.”

Oh, well in that case. Viva El Boosh!!

[M203M4]

I’ll throw this out just to be positive. Unless I am mistaken, at least this way the funds are drawn from monies already allocated. We robbed Peter to pay Paul, but instead will pay Paul and Patrick from the original share. Better than robbing Peter again. Better still would have been to not rob Peter in the first place, but the chances of that being undone are nil. It is now a matter of divvying up the spoils.

All cash down a black hole anyway. Yes, it delays the day of reckoning for the auto industry by a few years, and Obama et al will undoubtedly do the same thing. The incoming administration has been given unchecked power to spend half of the original $700 billion, and I am confident the “big three” would survive (without recourse to bankruptcy) for another few weeks. It is a really depressing calculus, but shunting existing funds to newer pet projects (instead of drawing fresh funds) is not the worst outcome we face.

Bush, Paulson, Bernanke, et al are still irresponsible cons who put snappy politics before sound economics. We’d be better off if 95% of the politicians and bureaucrats just golfed.

[Corin Stormhands]

There was a time when posting the following image might have gotten someone banned from this forum:

Sad, ain't it? He's trying to out-Carter Jimmy Carter...

[Aquinasfan]

Earth to Gettlefinger...UAW will lose all the jobs.

Gettlefinger probably knows the first principle of parasitism: Don't kill the host.

So why is he doing this? He probably has no choice. Were he to do otherwise, he'd probably be replaced.

So please, Jorge, let nature take its course. Let them go bankrupt.

[MEGoody]

For anything.

LOL Well, you can't get an indictment 'for anything'. The law requires a few more specifics than that.

[screaminsunshine]

People do not want to believe it. They called us all KOOKS. I tried for years to enlighten people but it was like talking to a wall. Well the KOOKS were right. But I bet they STILL won’t believe it.

[Ferndale]

Bush’s guiding principle is that he has no guiding principle.

[anniegetyourgun]

You nailed it.