Posted on 11/07/2008 7:20:56 AM PST by BGHater
Detroit’s Big Three were on Capitol Hill yesterday looking for a bigger bailout. They knew the results numbers coming out this morning would be grim and would offer little cheer for the future. The $700 billion in financial industry aid that motored through Congress last month must have flashed a big green light for the auto industry.
Originally, $25 billion in loan guarantees were offered to help U.S. cars get greener. But the car companies say the restrictions on how they can use that money make it less than helpful. In fact, GM and Chrysler might not even pass a financial viability test attached to the funds: If strictly enforced, the test could keep them from getting money at all.
Enter $50 billion more now being sought by the Big Three. Half of this amount is meant to pay for healthcare and other benefits for retired autoworkers. The other half would help to ensure solvency — perhaps making GM and Chrysler healthy enough to qualify for the initial aid.
To put the total proposed package in perspective, it amounts to a rebate of roughly $5,500 on every car, minivan, SUV and crossover that will be sold in the United States this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.reuters.com ...
Not a cent for ugly cars.
folk that
hey I want a billion too.
I thought we were done with subprime loans.
Bumper Sticker:
No subprimes for subcompacts.
Oh Boy! Now I get the honor of paying off a bunch of Union Workers pensions instead of my own pension. I want a free car if I have to pay the retirement of the car workers. Where be my free car???
The thuggish Unions voted overwhelmingly for Obama....Screw 'em and their shoddy work and self-serving votes. NO $$$$$!!
Go out of business! Please!
When I retired I was paying $88 a month for my retirement health care coverage. By the time I reached Medicare eligibilty, I was paying $500 a month. I don’t want my tax dollar used to pay the health care benefits for retired auto workers.
And the UAW wants $25 billion for their sinking healthcare. As goes GM, so goes the union workers.
I have updated my slogan, it now reads — Obamunism doesn’t fail, it just runs out of other people’s money to gie away.
Reject Obamunism, the land of the never ending bailouts and handouts. Might I suggest that Obama ask Raum Emanuel what he was doing while at Fanny Mae, other than of course stuffing his pockets, and funneling payoff money for his payoff slot to Senators and Congressmen. Fannie Mae was like the ‘filler-up’ station for Democrat hacks.
I bought a Chrysler Crossfire last year based on having a life-time warranty, can I get a refund if Chrysler goes out of business?
If the US car makers can't make something someone actually wants to buy, then they NEED to go out of business or consolidate... The UNIONS and car makers deserve NOTHING...
I hope Bush has the backbone to say Nope. Not this time.
Let ‘em wait until January. Petition the Mighty Obamamessiah for their stipend.
Put it on the Democratic tab, s’il vous plait.
Increase the Democratic deficit by another 50 billion. The Bush Administration is already in the red by more than enuf to make us sick to our stomachs.
Why should non-union states such as Texas have to bail out the UAW Democrat loafers in Michigan? Let them reap the rewards of decades of outrageous labor contracts that let high school dropouts make $50/hr. manning a power wrench. The companies that signed such stupid contracts deserve to go out of business.
Hey , I only need $300,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The automakers in the US will never make it until there is some type of tarriff put on foreign cars
The Business Socialist/Liberal Globalist model of trade is not going to work. Obviously it hasnt when you have to use taxpayer money to subsidize US automakers
A new tarriff on foreign cars is a lot more beneficial, and less socialist, than continued bad trade deals and US taxpayer bailouts
If U.S. auto makers get this gift to labor unions, I'm switching to Japanese cars, forthwith.
Perhaps I'm alone in this, but perhaps there's a backlash brewing.
.
The ridiculous CAFE standards don’t help them either. They have to spend billions on R&D just to TRY and reach the goals set by a bunch of jackasses in DC who couldn’t build a car if you put a gun to their head.
The Energy Department ``should not provide loans to upgrade plants that produce performance vehicles,'' Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen's president, said in a statement.
All you have to do is read that one remark and you see the problem with government intervention, especially at a time of transition to a new, untested and somewhat under-experienced President of leftist persuasion. Even before this - when you saw Barney Frank and Henry Waxman grilling AIG over their hotel bills - you could see what a great thing it is to have 435 "experts" added to your board of directors. When you dance with the Devil...
Time to collect union dues from congress.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.