Government Intervention Will Only Make Things Worse For Big Three
Negotiators in the House and Senate worked through the weekend to cobble together a temporary bailout plan that would tide the embattled Detroit automakers over until they are able to secure a more generous deal under the Obama administration. The plan would provide $15 billion in loans to keep the companies afloat through March. It appears that the funds will be diverted from the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive Program that was originally established to promote development of a new generation of fuel efficient vehicles.
Instead of simply appropriating new funds specifically designated for a bailout, Big 3 supporters in Congress have been busy playing shell games that they hope voters are too stupid to figure out. After witnessing the electoral backlash suffered by Republicans in the wake of the $700 billion financial bailout, Democrats are desperate to create the illusion that money for GM, Ford and Chrysler will come from an existing pool of funds. The plan they have hatched is to raid the $25 billion Advanced Technology fund, and then to appropriate an additional $15 billion to replenish the fund as soon as President Obama takes office. Voters should not be fooled by this political slight of hand.
There is also growing agreement on Capitol Hill that a federal overseer should be put in place to administer any bailout funds. The appointment of the so-called car czar is an even worse idea than the bailout itself. The U.S. Congress is one of the few organizations in the world that is more dysfunctional than the Detroit automakers, and allowing them to meddle in the day-to-day operations of the companies would only make matters worse. Are we really going to count on the same people who brought us the boondoggle of corn based ethanol to save the auto industry?
I’m still waiting for the banks to start releasing some credit money from the taxpayer’s money they received. What the hell’s up with that??? I too have no hope that a “govt czar” will be able to monitor anything. Maybe they’ll put Charlie Rangel in charge…
Just stopped in to see what, if anything, is new here. Nothing of course, but I did notice your “Will work for food” sign. Just wondering if it ever occurred to you that with such a deep level of expertise offered on such a wide range of topics as can be seen here might be posing an obsticle to employment. Oh I see some degree on gray matter but were I in search of an employee and were you being considered, I might find a variety of things here that tell me you are not a good pick. But then maybe you are looking in the field of education where there is a higher degree of tolerance for such things.
Al,
I have actually given this a great deal of thought, and there is some method to my madness. I believe that an honest and open exchange between potential employers and employees is the best way to ensure a lasting and productive working relationship. If there is something about me that an employer might find objectionable, we might as well get it out in the open now instead of finding out we’re both unhappy later. Any potential employer who reads this blog would know exactly what they’re getting, so there would be no unpleasant surprises down the road. If there is something about me that they find troubling based on what I’ve written here, I probably don’t want to work for them in the first place.
Cannot really disagree with the ideal but it’s a matter of priorities and degrees in some aspects. My view is that life is not always lived in a measure of 100% success. There are always going to be compromises. Seems to me the better approach is for YOU to know more about them than they know about you, not the other way around.