GOP Senator Warns of 'Riots' if Automakers Are Bailed Out

Business & Media Institute ^ | 12/11/08 | Jeff Poor

[Sammy67]

Time and again we’ve heard about the lost jobs and economic impact of failing to bail out the beleaguered American auto manufacturers. But little mention has been made of the consequences of going through with the bailout, and how such an action would be viewed by other Americans.

In an interview following a Dec. 10 press conference where he and four other senators aired their opposition to the proposed bailout deal struck by congressional leaders and the White House (and approved by the U.S. House of Representatives 237-170 that evening), Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., warned that the perception that some industries are being bailed out and some aren’t could lead to violence.

“We’re going to have riots. There are already people rioting because they’re losing their jobs when everybody else is being bailed out. The fairness of it becomes more and more evident as we go along. The auto companies may be hurting,” he said, but “there are very few companies that aren’t hurting and they’re going to hurt. We don’t have enough money to bail everyone out.”

DeMint blamed the unions for

[skinkinthegrass]

I'm against government involvement in the free market in principle but government caused this financial meltdown and hence the problems with GM and the others. Recovery will come one day and people will need to buy cars.
fine...scrap the cafe standards / drill for oil / let loose the free market / reduce Governments controls...taxes...don't bail-out the unions/auto co. for their stupid decisions.
"Trioka / Footstool of Liberalism...Corruption, Nationalization & Propaganda" Rush Limbuagh
“Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P.J.O’Rourke

[iopscusa]

Uh...OK Mr/Ms TruthGuy, so you say ‘Good intentions are not enough!’ but, but, your free market principles seem to disappear when the going gets tough, why even bother to have any credibility?
Situational Principles, IOWs a feather in the wind.

[agere_contra]

The US Car industry is not under threat. The Big 3 are under threat - indeed they are already dead. Time for them to collapse and for their assets and their useful workers to be taken up by companies that know how to run at a profit. Then the US car industry - people in the US, making cars - will do fine.

Any business which cannot operate without massive gifts from Government is not a business, it is a welfare scheme.

[Sci Fi Guy]

This man is my hero.

We need to remember his name (and the other good guys) the next time someone says that there is no difference between the two parties.

[meyer]

move the union under the control of the government with a no strike clause

Pass a national "right to work" law so that when these union thugs strike, there's be thousands lined up to take their place without having to pay homage to the UAW/DNC. As it stands now, the union has all the leverage due to the government giving them much greater bargaining rights than they give to the owners of the companies.

[meyer]

I'm against government involvement in the free market in principle but government caused this financial meltdown and hence the problems with GM and the others.

Just as with the credit crisis, the government has a hand in causing this, but the government absolutely refuses to make a move to undo the damaging regulations that have helped put GM into this position. Until the UAW loses it's legally-granted leverage, the auto companies will continue to fail. Until Washington gets rid of some of the unfunded mandates (can you say 'brownfields') on industries, they will not modernize.

As a taxpayer, I'm not of the mind that they need to be bailed out with money stolen from my paycheck. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is the correct path here, as it will allow the automakers to get out from under union contracts among other expenses, and emerge as viable competitors again.

[realdifferent1]

Losing our auto industry might destroy US manufacturing for good.

For the umpteenth time, we are not losing our auto industry. We are shedding some non-competitive parts of it.

[Jess Kitting]

do you prefer America and American made over products made by our enemies?

What if "America-made" products are "made by our enemies," i.e. the unions?

[NaughtiusMaximus]

You are not alone,FRiend. This is probably the worst thing which has happenned in our lifetime and too few people realize it until it engulfs them.

[Only1choice____Freedom]

If the bailout buyout is complete and the government takes over the companies, does this mean everybody gets the retirement package that the UAW has with the big three?

[truthguy]

I respectfully disagree. This is not manufacturing bailout, it is a Union bailout. This is why all the Dems support it. Unions are the problem.

Yes the UAW is a large part of the problem. I wish they would go away but they will not, at least for the time being. We have to deal with the situation at hand. The UAW will make the concessions necessary if the auto companies survive.

[truthguy]

I'm against government involvement in the free market in principle but government caused this financial meltdown and hence the problems with GM and the others. Recovery will come one day and people will need to buy cars. fine...scrap the cafe standards / drill for oil / let loose the free market / reduce Governments controls...taxes...don't bail-out the unions/auto co. for their stupid decisions

You are correct for the most part. However I don't think the car companies made as many stupid decisions as you might think. Running any industrial company in a world wide environment is extremely difficult. Running a company like GM, Ford, or Chrysler in today's environment with the UAW and the associated baggage is just about the toughest job around. If you think the Car Companies have made stupid decisions then list about a half dozen or so that you think have merit. Be specific.

[truthguy]

Uh...OK Mr/Ms TruthGuy, so you say ‘Good intentions are not enough!’ but, but, your free market principles seem to disappear when the going gets tough, why even bother to have any credibility? Situational Principles, IOWs a feather in the wind.

I've studies situational ethics as well. A huge amount of the problems Detroit is having is because of stupid policies coming out of Washington D.C. from our Federal Government. They are responsible for many of the policies that have hurt the Auto Manufacturers and other industrial companies as well. The Federal Government is nearly 100% responsible for the Credit Crunch we are now experiencing now. This is what is killing the auto companies at the moment.

[truthguy]

The US Car industry is not under threat. The Big 3 are under threat - indeed they are already dead. Time for them to collapse and for their assets and their useful workers to be taken up by companies that know how to run at a profit. Then the US car industry - people in the US, making cars - will do fine. Any business which cannot operate without massive gifts from Government is not a business, it is a welfare scheme.

You post is breathtaking in its stupidity. It's really stupidity squared. The US Car Industry is GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Period.
The Foreign Car Companies which operate here do low tech final assembly. There is a huge difference between Manufacturing and Final Assembly. Final Assembly is chump work or chimp work.
If the US Auto Companies were to go out of business as you seem to wish for how long to you think it would take for the foreign car companies to pack up and leave? Nothing could stop them. They would have the US over a barrel. The Foreign Manufacturers didn't want to come to the US in the first place. They were forced to. Toyota, Honda, Nissan in particular would much rather be operating in Japan if they could. With the US Auto Industry out of business, there would be no force to stop the foreign manufacturers from leaving.

Just who do you thing would buy up all these so called assets? Give me the names of the companies.
Gosh you really haven't thought this thing out.