A proposal to bail out the big three U.S. automakers passed the House of Representatives but its prospects looked grim in the Senate where supporters faced an uphill struggle on Thursday to keep it alive.
But prospects for passage in the Senate were grim. Democrats were short the 60 votes necessary to overcome procedural hurdles. Without the support of a dozen or more Republicans the bill would fail, a Democratic aide said.
Let us be real….the Repubs have been trying for years to break unions and this is an opportunity to break one of the biggest. The sad part is they will sacrifice the economy and jobs for Americans to do it.
Sen. Shelby of Alabama is the leading opponent to the auto bailout, ask him how much in incentives and tax breaks and cuts did his state throw at Toyota to get them to locate in the state. It would be a godsend to Toyota and Alabama if the Big 3 were to fail. Bet the total would be close to the amount of the first installment to the Big 3. The insincere crap about wanting to help the auto industry and save jobs is just a lie.
This assault on the American auto industry will have lasting effects and has all the earmarks of coming back to bite them in the ass.
While there probably truth in that the republicans are licking their chops for their opportunity to disband the UAW, there is still that fact that the GM, Ford, and Chrysler’s labor costs are much higher than their foreign counterparts. The numbers that I have seen put the difference at somewhere around $1000 per car. That is a pretty significant number.
While a bailout may be all good and well, unless they address the 800-pound gorilla on their back, they are going to fail in the end. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any ideas coming from anybody to address this issue. At least the republicans are rightly pointing out that, hey, this needs to be addressed.
Hi Terrent–take a look at the Repubs fighting the bailout–most are from Southern States where foreign car companies have their plants…so basically these guys are saying that all American workers should make the same pay as their lower paid brothers…..where was this concern with Wall Street….nop one was asked to give up anything…..so blue collar must make the same wage and white collar can do as they please. I am having hard time blaming the workers for the problems of the companies…all they do is make the car.
Repubs are jerking off with glee…this is the closest they have ever been a busting unions and they are a huge orgasm.
Yes, I agree that there is a hidden agenda at work. However, the problem still needs to be addressed. What I am seeing is a lack of solutions. The democrats aren’t going to touch it because that would be pissing on what is considered to be a major component in their base (just like the republicans wouldn’t dare put pressure on the wealthy). The only thing I see from republicans is opposition (this bailout is unamerican blah blah blah…) but nothing in the way of reasonably addressing the problem.
Hence, the reason that bankruptcy might not be a bad idea.
Bankruptcy would be disastrous for the consumer…..if you have a car under warranty, that would be nullified. ALL obligations are thrown out….a warranty is an obligation…that is just one reason I do not think that Bankruptcy would help. Would you but a product from a bankrupted company?
I have been working on an idea why they should fail…watch for it……it could help some political entities more than others.