Dec 04 2008
Auto Industry Moguls Given an Inflammatory Welcome on Capital Hill
The New York Times reports that the chief executives of the “Big Three” auto companies were greeted with a hotbed of pent-up anger on Capitol Hill today.
Their situation was not helped by the fact that many congressmen and women have to deal with their own difficulties resulting from the nationwide recession and “the realization that even their strongest supporters might not be able to muster the votes to save them.”
Indeed, the auto chiefs seem to be caught in a cross-fire of special interests, hostile sentiments from many quarters, and personal and political priorities that conflict with the needs of the foundering automobile industry.
“Fiscal hawks are worried that taxpayers will lose billions,” write David Herszenhorn and David Stout. “Pro-labor lawmakers are furious that union workers are being blamed for causing the automakers’ problems, even as tens of thousands face layoffs. Environmentalists like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are fed up after years of battles over fuel-efficiency rules. And Congress, as a whole, is suffering from acute bailout fatigue.”
“I don’t want to raise expectations that that is going to be easy at all given the climate in the country,” Democratic Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut told reporters after today’s hearing before the banking committee, which he chairs. “That’s a tall order.”
When the hearing was over, Dodd joined Pelosi, Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who heads the House Financial Services Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada in writing a letter to President Bush, urging him to save the auto industry.
Dodd made an appeal to the president and the Federal Reserve to rescue the auto manufacturers because he feared that Congress may not to it. He also pledged to continue his efforts in reaching a legislative deal, “even as it was clear that Congressional Democrats, furious over the administration’s handling of the $700 billion bailout of the financial system, were reluctant to put more taxpayer money on the line.”
And Democrats who are reluctant to hand out another tax-payer sponsored bailout aren’t alone. Many fiscal hawks on the Republican side of the aisle like Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee have stated their opinion that the Big Three – which consist of General Motors, Chrysler and Ford – might be beyond saving due to their consistently poor performance against foreign competitors and “might not be worthy of taxpayer expense.”
Source: The New York Times
Of course they aren’t worth it. The Washington Post yesterday published a very good article about “the other auto industry” in the US, consisting of the “transplant” companies that make autos in states other than Michigan.
In short, they are doing just fine, thankyouverymuch, and haven’t asked for, and don’t plan to ask for, any money from the government.
So why the hell should we bail out a bunch of mugs that haven’t learned the hard lessons that the economy has tried to teach them?
They don’t sell cars most of us want to buy.
They don’t sell cars that are safe for the environment.
Their manufacturing process is much less efficient than their competitors’, resulting in higher costs per car.
Many of the other manufacturers can switch an assembly line to another product in literally minutes.
The big 3 take weeks.
So, remind me again why they shouldn’t be forced to go into chapter 11?
I have never been so undecided about an issue. Although we Americans shouldn’t, we have no choice but to take notice of the mis-management of the 700 billion when weighing and deciding what should be the outcome of the “Big 3″. This morning on Morning Joe there was a panelist by the name of Van Williams who has made the most sense of a decent resolve. He suggests that the automakers be mandated to redirect their energies into building and maintaining the solar platforms that will be needed for America to start producing energy effecient vehicles, aircraft and local transportation. He believes that this process will kill a few birds with one stone. In addition he suggests that this mandate would also lead to the cleaning of our air and help with our global warming issue. In addition to needing boening type engeering, the projects would need double to triple employees than the Big 3. Sounds pretty good to me. I’ll be picking up his book today to research further.
There is one reason and one reason only Repugnants and others of their ilk resent helping out the Big Three. Unions. Repugnants will do anything to bust Unions. All those foreign car companies that make cars in America are not unionized. All those foreign car companies that are “doing so well” are supported by their foreign owners. All those foreign car companies will just disappear if things get too bad.
The same Repugnants and Blue Dog Dummycrats who fell all over themselves throwing TRILLIONS of dollars at the banking industry black hole cannot bring themselves to LOAN money to an industry that actually produces a product, employs hundreds of thousands of people with decent wages, health care and pensions because they are unionized.
Rwharens and the many others who hate unions also ignore the national security aspect of this loan to American auto makers who also make Tanks and Hummers and most of the mechanized equipment we use in our armed forces. Undoubtedly they would rather these companies died out leaving our armed forces dependent on outsourcing to our potential enemies. Another attempt to continue the degradation of America into a 3rd world country. Next week they will be calling for an effort to get rid of the airplane industry in America and then the what’s left of the steel and aluminum industy so we can buy our next fighters and bombers from Israel, Russia or China.
Short sighted is NOT the word I would prefer to use to describe these idiots.
Oldfart, you are blind.
Do you think that those factories would just close up and disappear?
No, they would be taken over by other investors and operated in a leaner fashion, without the stupid decisions made by the current management. Chapter 11 is not a death knell, it is most often a way to a leaner, more efficient company. Lots of American businesses - big ones - have been through it and come out better off.
I am not anti-union, I don’t hate them.
But I do think that they are part of the reason why the big 3 are losing money.
No, the workers for the Other Guys aren’t unionized. But that doesn’t mean that they are working for a pittance either.
They also work for companies that aren;t in danger of failing or laying them off. Honda just opened a new factory recently. In the US. During a recession!
Gee, I’d say they’re doing alright - maybe they’re making cars people actually are willing to put money up for!
You know, making money the old-fashioned way - selling good products!