Sean and I decided to stop listening to the news. We can only hear, “GM’s dying” so much and we realized hearing all the negative (and often ignorant) newscasts was really bringing us down. But tonight I was watching ER (I still cannot believe this is its last season – although after tonight’s lousy episode I’m less sad than before) and a teaser for the local late news came on, announcing the bailout bill was DOA in the Senate, so I kept the TV on.
I really wish I hadn’t. But I did, and I heard Mr. Messy-hair-anchor-guy say the bridge loan bill stalled in the Senate over UAW wage concessions.
I cannot listen to this any more. And by “this” I mean seemingly uneducated senators and congressmen and news anchors with great hair waxing poetic about the car industry, having no clue what losing a manufacturing base would do to our economy. You want to see a major disparity between the rich and the poor? Get rid of manufacturing. Actually producing a product is what brought a massive middle class population to America. You want the middle class gone? Get rid of manufacturing.
My libertarian leanings make this situation hard for me to swallow. I do not want GM bankrupt – I enjoy Sean bringing home a paycheck, after all. But is giving loans to businesses the proper function of government? Of course the answer is no. But it is also not the proper function of government to impede businesses from running their businesses and that is exactly what has happened to GM and millions of other companies as a result of an onerous tax code and unfunded mandates passed by representatives living and working in their own ivory towers.
This wake-up call is long overdue. Perhaps the situation with the Big 3 can provide the alarm that is needed to let Congress know that regulating and taxing companies is not helping anyone.
There has never been a greater need for the FairTax.
Nor have I ever needed my iPod more. I’ll just keep cranking out the Christmas tunes and go back to ignoring the news.
Showing posts with label auto bailout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label auto bailout. Show all posts
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
No good night kiss tonight...
Oh my. Sean is not happy with me. Michael is not happy with me. I am not entirely happy with me.
We had the, “Should the government give loans to the car industry?” talk a few minutes ago. “If GM doesn’t get the money it will go bankrupt. Who’s going to buy cars from a bankrupt company?” said Sean. “And they have to keep making the Corvette!” said Michael. “Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the job of government is to float loans to car companies,” said I.
A brouhaha ensued. I will not recount the gory details here, but suffice it to say my boys are not speaking to me.
No one wants to see GM, Ford or Chrysler go out of business, least of all someone whose husband works for one of them. It would be devastating for the country’s economy and the personal economy of nearly everyone I know. Millions of people would be out of a job and the ripple effect would be felt far beyond Detroit. And there is a humongous part of me that wants to see Congress give the loans to the Big Three because I don't want to see the once-mighty GM file for Chapter 11.
But when I unemotionally (and believe me, that’s a trick) look at the issue there is no way I could support the loans. I don’t think Congress should have given the loans to Chrysler in the 80’s, I don’t think they should have passed the $700 billion bailout last month for Wall Street, and I don’t think they ought to do it for my husband’s beloved industry. What in the world is Congress doing messing around in private businesses? Like they’ve ever solved anything or done anything with great efficiency…
If the loans go through one way I’ll soothe myself is knowing that Congress is partly to blame for GM’s demise. Their complete lack of gumption to do anything about Japan’s manipulation of the yen, the passage of onerous laws (CAFE standards, anyone?) and a refusal to address the corporate tax rate have done little to help the domestic auto industry.
The bottom line, though, is the government has defined roles and giving money to companies on the brink of bankruptcy isn’t one of them. I know that view won’t win me many friends at GM, but it might make America a better country for my children.
___________________________________
Michael Barone's wrote an interesting piece about this yesterday.
We had the, “Should the government give loans to the car industry?” talk a few minutes ago. “If GM doesn’t get the money it will go bankrupt. Who’s going to buy cars from a bankrupt company?” said Sean. “And they have to keep making the Corvette!” said Michael. “Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the job of government is to float loans to car companies,” said I.
A brouhaha ensued. I will not recount the gory details here, but suffice it to say my boys are not speaking to me.
No one wants to see GM, Ford or Chrysler go out of business, least of all someone whose husband works for one of them. It would be devastating for the country’s economy and the personal economy of nearly everyone I know. Millions of people would be out of a job and the ripple effect would be felt far beyond Detroit. And there is a humongous part of me that wants to see Congress give the loans to the Big Three because I don't want to see the once-mighty GM file for Chapter 11.
But when I unemotionally (and believe me, that’s a trick) look at the issue there is no way I could support the loans. I don’t think Congress should have given the loans to Chrysler in the 80’s, I don’t think they should have passed the $700 billion bailout last month for Wall Street, and I don’t think they ought to do it for my husband’s beloved industry. What in the world is Congress doing messing around in private businesses? Like they’ve ever solved anything or done anything with great efficiency…
If the loans go through one way I’ll soothe myself is knowing that Congress is partly to blame for GM’s demise. Their complete lack of gumption to do anything about Japan’s manipulation of the yen, the passage of onerous laws (CAFE standards, anyone?) and a refusal to address the corporate tax rate have done little to help the domestic auto industry.
The bottom line, though, is the government has defined roles and giving money to companies on the brink of bankruptcy isn’t one of them. I know that view won’t win me many friends at GM, but it might make America a better country for my children.
___________________________________
Michael Barone's wrote an interesting piece about this yesterday.
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