Senate GOP Opposes Auto Industry Bailout, Good for You
Another classic situation of two competing arguments vying for taxpayer money. Those who claim the sky is falling and not bailing out the auto industry will offer chaos to the American economy and the other argument which says ‘not so fast’. The typical ploy of describing impending doom as a method to gain support for a dumb idea is once again at the heart of the discussion in Washington DC.
Rather than spending more taxpayer dollars and then trying to get them back if the auto industry continues to fail, forcing them into bankruptcy, take bankruptcy now. The auto industry would certainly not be the first business to accept such a fate. And if successfully emerging from Chapter 11 at some point in the future they would not be the first to do that either.
Enough with the frenzied approach to use taxpayer dollars to bail out everyone who has failed. Stop the insanity now. Let those who are failing or those who have failed use standard measures to fix their problems rather than making those problems ours.
Good for you, Senate Republicans opposing the auto industry bailout.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
Senate Republicans Vow to Block Aid to US Automakers
Washington 10 December 2008 |
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Congressional Democrats say they have reached agreement with the White House on a deal to give U.S. automakers billions of dollars in loans and require the companies to restructure to stay competitive in the global marketplace. Although the deal has wide support in the House of Representatives, but its fate remains unclear in the Senate, where Republicans say the measure does not go far enough to force the industry to reform.
The proposal would make $14 billion in loans immediately available to General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford to help shore up the beleaguered automakers through March. The loans would come from already-appropriated money.
In return, by the end of March the companies would have to submit a restructuring plan to achieve long-term viability and international competitiveness.
Some Senate Republicans were quick to express their opposition to the plan. They argue that giving automakers money first and then demanding that they restructure is the wrong approach.
Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama is among several Republicans who are vowing to block the bill from advancing in the Senate.
“Unless Chrysler, Ford and General Motors become lean and innovative and competitive in the marketplace, this is only delaying their funeral,” he said.
But Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, the state where the automakers are based, warns that if one or more of the companies go bankrupt, millions of jobs would be lost - further harming a U.S. economy, which is already in recession.
“This is more than just penalizing a company that you are mad at. This is about the underpinnings of our economy, and fundamentally whether we are going to compete with every other country and make things in an advanced, manufacturing economy,” said Stabenov.
At the White House, Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan says President Bush would be in touch with individual Republican lawmakers to win their support for the plan.
“We wanted to make sure that it was tough and that this was not a bridge financing to nowhere, that we could look these members in the eye, and we could look the American people in the eye and say that this measure gives these companies a chance and their stakeholders a chance, but its not a lifeline to continue with bad management and a bad business plan,” said Kaplan.
The plan also calls for the president to appoint a so-called “car czar”, someone to oversee the loans and monitor the companies’ progress toward reforming.