Mocking the Big 3

As I've said before, I agree with the bailout of the Big 3. But that doesn't mean this isn't anymore true (hattip to Andrew Sullivan):

Kudos to George W. Bush: A $17.4 Billion, 3-Month Lifeline for Automakers

I thought this was good news. George Bush deserves some credit:

WASHINGTON — President Bush agreed to an emergency bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, giving them a few months to get their businesses in order, but left to President-elect Barack Obama the difficult political decision of ruling on their progress.

The plan pumps $13.4 billion by mid-January into the companies from the fund that Congress authorized to rescue the financial industry. But the two companies have until March 31 to produce a plan for long-term profitability, including concessions from unions, creditors, suppliers and dealers.

As I've said before, I think the Big 3 needs to be bailed out for the sake of the economy. It will save thousands of jobs, which cannot be lost in the middle of this recession. And you have to like the restrictions placed on the money like a plan for long-term profitability. Let's just hope the American car companies are up to it.

Auto Bailout Talks Collapse as Senate Deadlocks Over Wages

Well it looks like Mitch McConnell and his boys are going to get there way:

An eleventh-hour effort to salvage a proposed $14 billion rescue plan for the auto industry collapsed late last night as Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on the timing of deep wage cuts for union workers, killing the legislative plan and threatening America's carmakers with bankruptcy.

"We're not going to get to the finish line. That's just the way it is. There's too much difference between the two sides," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) announced after 10 p.m., concluding a marathon negotiating session that ended in gridlock. Reid warned that financial markets could plummet when trading opens this morning.

"I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It's not going to be a pleasant sight," he said.

As I've said before, I think we need to bailout the Big 3 for the simple reason that there are millions of jobs of everyday middle class people on the line.

However, while some partisans might be cursing the minority party, I can understand why reservations about an auto bailout. Why give away billions of dollars to companies on the verge of the collapse because of incompetence and stupidity? Of course, in almost any other time, I think you do let the big 3 fail. Our economy would survive, and American manufacturing would evolve and change, just like businesses always evolves and changes into something else.

But you cannot let it happen during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Maybe the government is just staving off the inevitable, and the car companies will collapse eventually. So be it. But I don't want to have a Herbert Hoover-style of dealing with financial crisises and sit back and do nothing.

Jon Stewart's Autoerotic Explanation

I've laid out my argument for why we need to save the Big Three automakers. But watching the Daily Show the other day, I realized that Jon Stewart did a much better job of explaining why the American auto industry needs to be saved. Watch and enjoy:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Autoerotic Explanation

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

G.M. Asks for $18 Billion as It Tries to Avoid Collapse

This has been in the news for a bit now, but it looks like it is getting worse:

WASHINGTON — General Motors will drastically cut jobs, factories, brands and executive pay in a desperate attempt to persuade Congress to give it $12 billion in loans to stave off a financial collapse.

In an unabashed plea for an emergency government rescue, G.M. said Tuesday that it needed $4 billion in immediate loans to stay in business after December, and another $8 billion to carry it through the first part of next year.

Without help, the nation’s largest automaker could topple into insolvency within weeks and drag down the other two members of Detroit’s troubled Big Three. The company said it needed $10 billion in federal loans to keep running through March, another $2 billion for the balance of 2009, and a $6 billion line of credit in additional support beyond that.“The first $4 billion is crucial,” G.M.’s president, Frederick Henderson, said. “We wouldn’t have asked for it if we didn’t need it.”

If the economy was in good or even OK shape, I would be happy to let G.M. falter along with the other two members of the Big Three. Their ability to adjust to the times is largely responsible for the financial mess that is the current state.

However, these are not ordinary times. The economy is in shambles. Stock prices have dropped nearly 50%. People are losing jobs. If the Big Three do collapse, that means millions more out of jobs. That means thousands more faltering on mortgages. We must, in my humble opinion, save the Big Three. Not for the executives at the top, but for the everyday workers who are hanging on by a thread.