Tag Archives: auto bailout

The auto bailout has a special place in this bloggers heart, because while I started blogging again in November to express my frustration towards the other incompetence of the McCain Campaign up to and including their trying to place all the blame on Sarah Palin, the auto bailout was the first issue I really sunk my teeth into. I gave it a catch name, “Grand Theft Auto Bailout,” and blogged aboot how the whole deal stunk on ice.

And it ended the way we all thought it was going to end. We have the Big Three (or Two, since Ford said no) billions of dollars for a loan, and it was time to collect they a) didn’t do anything that was expected of them, and b) wanted more money. The end result was the government taking over GM, they got more money, and we got doubts that we were ever going to get it paid back.

So when I read things like this, you can imagine how warm and tingly it makes me feel. So sayeth the fair and balanced folks from the Heritage Foundation…

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“Your ignorance of the auto industry and its impact leads me to seriously question you ability to form realistic opinions on the other events that you comment on. It is becoming more and more clear that you are not nearly as astute as you present yourself. Your credibility is sinking quickly.” – A reader in response to my “Grand Theft Auto Bailout.”

That comment was in response to my opposing the auto bailout back in January. It was my opinion that it was a bad idea. I didn’t understand why we were bailing out Ford (who didn’t want a bailout) and Chrysler (which is owned by a private equity firm that had more than enough money to bail Chrysler out itself if they thought it was a good investment). My feeling was that we were going to give the auto industry a mulligan, and they were going to come back asking for more money.

And it wasn’t just me. It was anyone who opposed the bailout.

Hmmm…
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There were high hopes when Hank Paulson told a business forum in New York Thursday night “orderly” bankruptcy might be the best solution. Instead, meh…

The White House has decided to come to the rescue of General Motors and Chrysler by providing them with low-interest loans, ABC News has learned. Under the plan, which could be announced as early as this morning, the auto giants will be able to stay afloat into the new year.

And the news just broke that Bush is giving the Three Little Pigs a $17.4B loan…$1.4B more than the one Republican’s took a stand against. And this from Amanda Carpenter, “$17.4 billion with the ‘promise’ they make money ‘soon.’“

You can read all my other “Grand Theft Auto Bailout” thoughts here.  Cue Bush Derangement Syndrome in 5..4..3..2..
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While Mitch McConnell gets hearted by the Wall Street Journal, all eyes turn to the Bush Administration who signaled that they may tap into the existing TARP funds (i.e. the first bailout that caused all this). The reason the UAW refused to deal with Bob Corker is because a) they own the Democrat party, and b) they figured Bush would cave and show them the money.

That might not be the case. Take it away Larry Kudlow…

At a minimum, it’s going to take the Treasury several days to walk through the financial numbers and gather all the facts before it takes any action…And nothing will happen until these numbers are properly crunched. And the Treasury may well want to arrange for a built-in monitor – something that might even look like a car tsar – if any TARP money is dispersed.

Senate sources tell me that any TARP-money allocation might include the very same conditions proposed by Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker in legislation that broke down in a marathon session in the Senate list night.

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Amidst all the hysterical editorials aboot how Republican’s have doomed the American auto companies to fail, I came across one editorial that lays out why this bailout would never work in the first place. Take it away Investors Business Daily…

If Mulally, Nardelli and Wagoner truly felt that they had the skills necessary to right these sinking ships, they would have properly asked for handsome pay packages that included a great deal of equity upside should they succeed.

That they’re willing to work for nothing shows they don’t honestly believe they can fix what is broken. Based on their childish compensation requests alone, it’s a certainty that the money handed them will be wasted.

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