Like they “fixed” the housing market;
Last summer, Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey joined his Democratic colleagues in piling $85 billion in new regulatory costs on the Detroit Three by mandating a 40-percent fuel-efficiency increase by 2020.
[..]
At this afternoon’s Senate Banking Committee hearings, Casey … demanded quick passage of $34 billion in taxpayer money to save the Detroit companies from bankruptcy.
Sounds like they came out ahead.
“The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
Ronald Reagan
40th president of US (1911 – 2004)
There’s certainly a lot of blame to go around in Detroit’s long, sad decline. But after management and the UAW take their share of the blame, the government’s insane regulations have played a huge part. Things like the CAFE laws disproportionately hobbled Detroit while favouring many foreign manufacturers, and we mustn’t forget many of the foreign owned auto plants in North America were built with huge subsidies, tax holidays and other incentives.
Even now, while it is obvious we have major excess capacity in North America, Hyundai is building a new plant in Alabama thanks to $118 million in incentives:
http://www.siteselection.com/ssinsider/bbdeal/bd020401.htm.
The socialist spending cycle is nearly complete in the auto industry, US$119,000,000,000 so far, and say another $10,000,000,000 for unemployment and job-training when these efforts fail.
All of it other peoples money.
Let it go already!!!
As if Americans will do without cars. Certainly they’ll move in Japanese and European auto makers to fill in the gaps, Oh well………there may even be some new innovations out of the US itself, new upstarts with less competition.
Detroit might even be a nice city to visit again someday and who doesn’t like Mercedes and BMW?
You know the really interesting part about this unlimited bailoutmania that the USA is going thru?
Over $8 trillion allocated by the govt so far.
It will actually come to a point where each additional dollar of spending by govt will cost more in the long run, than what it will create in the economy.
Its like the fertilizer principle in farming.
There comes a point where each additonal dollar spent on fertilizer becomes a cost that gets you no more return.
Man, are these next few years going to get interesting.
hey! why don’t the conservatives create a stiumulus package to assist the canadian auto industry before the americans figure out what the heck is going on? oh yeah, i forgot; that would be retarded
As someone who currently lives in Pennsylvania, I cannot stand this moron. He makes our other eratic Senator look sane.
I still can’t believe that the UAW Members actually supported the demands for a 80 year Health-Care benefit package that extended to relatives.
It reminded me of the Col-War bomb shelters that came with a warranty for surviving a Nuclear attack .
This was all hinged on the Company surviving and the family surviving to make a claim , that’s why I don’t care about cars with long Warranties because just look at GM and Chrysler to see how even 3 years can change everything.
“As if Americans will do without cars.” – Knight 99, that’s about the most convincing argument that I have ever heard for not supporting the bailout. I admit that I have been against the idea since the beginning (being slightly fiscally right of Attila the Hun) but I have had some reservations because there is obviously a bigger picture here that has to be dealt with – huge unemployment both within and on the periphery of the auto industry.
But you’re actually correct – we have to buy these things from someone and the US has never been short of entrepreneurs to fill-in certain gaps. As well, there is a multitude of factories and assembly lines that won’t just vanish.
Auto giants have faded away before and will do so again. It’s really as simple as ‘build a better mouse-trap” which is not necessarily simple but it is achievable.
Instead of spending tens or hundreds of billions of dollars bailing out the ‘Big 3’ (didn’t they used to be the ‘Big 4’?) maybe we should spend that money on intelligent start-ups that will build what is desired and appropriate…
They call themselves “Capitalists”? There are Welfare Queens with more dignity or scruples. I hear they only arrived in their limo’s this time round. Personnel Jets having become to gosh.
There like slaves before a Master with a whip.
Like a fairy tale they now want to have the American tax payer subsidize them, just like the Separatist collation junta in the Canada‘s? Its just another symptom of the mental collapse of Civilization.
After the tax hit who will be able to afford to buy a car. This is just allowing these maggots to keep their lifestyles as high torch. There bums in suites.
One analyst I saw today:
If there are layoffs at a plant in St. Louis and a job opening in Kansas City, the laid off employee can refuse the job in Kansas City.
Cost him 10% of his salary for an indefinite period of time.
The expert cited one example of a eight-year veteran, who’s been getting 90% of his salary for years since being laid off and not having to work one second for his money.
There’s one more option … the worker could take a $100,000 cash payout. At my place, severance is three week’s pay for every year’s service up to a maximum 20 years ie 60 weeks’ pay. Then you’re gone. Period.
And you wonder why the Big Three are in trouble?
You wonder why the labour costs are $75 and hour compared to $40 an hour for Toyota employees.
Before Congress gives a nickle, let the Big Three get out of these cushy deals for the unions. Chapter 11 if needed. Then nobody gets anything, including the pensioners.
Posted by: Brian M>
Agreed, and exactly my point.
Further – Is America a capitalist economy or a socialist one? The rules of capitalism as I understand them are that you play hard and win big. At times you fail and start over, usually for the innovative that means “you build a better mouse trap” as you commented.
The “bailout plan” is un-American and oozes with political hypocrisy along with socialist occupation.
On one hand they pander to the American icon of the “Big 3” to tug at the patriotic heart strings of American’s, then on the other hand sell off other parts of the US to foreign powers and interests. Open borders, global village, free trade the IMF and World Bank along with other such un-American nonsense, is OK, but to loose the life blood of underachieving car manufactures is beyond comprehension.
This is about politics and demographics. Never believe that’s it’s about the American workers and saving millions of jobs. As you stated the assembly lines and machining tools will still be in place, and the workers will still be in uniform, it’s simply a matter of different colors and logos to stamp their realistic paychecks.
there is obviously a bigger picture here that has to be dealt with – huge unemployment both within and on the periphery of the auto industry.
There’s another picture, just as big, but it’s harder to see. It’s the jobs lost throughout the country caused by the dollars consumers don’t have to spend because they’re funding the bailout.
Those lost jobs aren’t gonna be in tight, big bunches like at the auto factories but there will be just as many, if not more of them lost. They’ll just be spread out throughout the entire economy, which makes them harder to notice. But they’ll be just as lost, just the same.
Lesson: Bailouts support identifiable voting blocs is all. They’re bribes.
Posted by: Ron Good>
“Bailouts support identifiable voting blocs is all. They’re bribes.”
BINGO!!!!!!!
Ross Perot, the little Texan with the big ears, was a Board Member of GM for a short period. He once said that the only difference between the members of the GM board and Detroit’s OC (Crime families) was that the OC (Crime families) were better dressed.
The CEO of GM came from the “Hughes” group, that should be more than telling.
I found this video very interesting. Pay close attention to the narrators final words.
http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189