In a real dick power move, the Republicans began preparing for their new role as the bane of Obama's existence by squashing the Dems
proposed Auto bailout. Outspoken Republicans beg the question, "Hey, is bankruptcy really that bad?" UAW reps, Democrats, Big Three CO's and most Americans understand it could mean a devastating blow to our already feeble economy. It's quite like finding a blind cripple trying to locate the nearest trashcan, tripping him so he falls on his face, then savagely stomping his testicles with golf shoes until he swears to make greener cars (even though he never graduated from high school and has never actually seen a car).
It is true that many companies use Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure, pull themselves up by their bootstraps and return to profitability and lifestyles of greed and excess, but this depends on the industry. Delta Airlines has done it, twice, and thanks to charging for peanuts & blankets, is back on top. However, an airplane ticket is a service, not a good. When one invests in an automobile, one needs to know that there will continue to be parts, service, and a company that manufactures it existing for at least as long as he/she intends to own said vehicle.
Although polls indicated the majority of Americans, and nearly every single Republican, did not support an auto bailout, polls also equally suggest Americans would find themselves disinclined to buy a car from a bankrupt company. The thing is, most Americans don't want the Big Three to fail, causing catastrophic job losses in the millions while samurai sword wielding foreign powers buy out
People wouldn’t mind the bailout, if the morons representing us in the congress were able to execute it properly. Congress simply put bags of money in a giant leaf blower and forgot to count it, keep track of it, or make sure it was used for things other than manicures on lavish "We Aren't Totally Screwed" themed company retreats. The GOP needs to realize that Americans don’t have a problem using their tax money to protect American industrial interests and financial stability; they have a problem with the goons in Congress being grossly inefficient in allocating the money. 
How did these Senators get their jobs again? Aside from charisma and an intense belief in the End Times, what were their actual qualifications? We know they are quite good at having sex with teenagers, driving drunk, and murdering interns- but what about staying in touch with their constituents, drafting progressive and pragmatic legislature, and preventing the megalomaniacal President from pooping on the Constitution and becoming more powerful than Jesus juicing on GHB?
Obama is in for a wild ride if these Repubs insist 
on playing
the opposite game. Hopefully he is clever enough to support an initiative to not allow the Republicans to hurl themselves off a cliff, and following through with their sworn pact of defiance, they smugly soar over the edge.
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For once I'm okay with the Republicans shooting down the Dems. Its been a long time since the republicans have acted republican; its almost novel. They are supposed to be believers in small gov and in the invisible hand of the market- its almost like they believe in evolution: adaptation to ones environment and only the strong survive. This is of course instead of the recent republican policies that has lead to the largest gov spending ever on record (national deficit and Iraq), the most intrusive to our civil liberties (patriot act), and of course the efforts to reverse law so that the religious views of some will dictate the law to all (roe vs. wade). And this may seem a bit more optimistic than the times call for, but our auto industry will survive, but undoubtedly will have to change and be scaled back- more people will have to lose jobs. In a depression people are not going to make large purchases like normal so there should not be the expectation that you're going to keep a factory fully staffed humming along. To do what? Flood a market! Drive down the value of your product below cost- a bale out would not solve this problem. Instead create a fund for those needing to be laid off that will help them transition to their next position. I bet it would be much cheaper and then we would have an auto industry that would suite its demand without the hit to our economy. By the way require the resignation of the CEO's- I believe its safe to say they failed.
ReplyDeleteJerseyryan, you are SO right re: the CEOs resigning! FINALLY the people of this country are looking at these white collar hoodlums for what they are! In the past they have been awarded bonus while hundreds of employees were laid off! WTF!!??
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