Barney Frank: Big 3 Will Need Lots More Money (admits it may run into "HUNDREDS of billions")

RedState.com ^ | 11/19/08 | Brian Faughnan

[pray4liberty]

Sorry about the triple post. My bad.

[chiefqc]

If barbie fwank would have done his job instead of having concerns about havng enough ky jelly and a spare set of knee pads this bailout mess may have been avoided.

[longtermmemmory]

I think barney frank is spinning like a madman because an angry mob might turn on him over the fannie and freddie mess.

[Republicus2001]

So, if I read this right it is about two things: the unions and green cars.

also it's to give Barnie Frank's mom a seat on the GM Board of Directors

[chiefqc]

Gee thanks a lot, now I will not be able to sleep with all this new worry. Oh wait, after a second of additional thought never mind I’ll be fine.

[Senator John Blutarski]

I think it is no secret that GM’s billion dollar per month loss rate is a function of excessively high hourly labor rates and the now mountainous costs of a retirement package that they so unwisely agreed to several decades ago. As I understand it [any bankruptcy attorneys here?], bankruptcy will allow GM to void its existing labor contract. If that happens, the UAW will itself face collapse. The Democrats cannot IMO realistically allow this to happen, so they presumably cannot accept a reorganization package that involves bankruptcy.

The news media talks about an auto industry bail-out, but I think that the Democrats view it essentially as saving the UAW organization, which has been one of their most faithful and important political allies.

Unfortunately, any bail-out package that does not deal with the unsustainable labor expenses which currently burden GM will be doomed to failure. The company will never be able to return to commercial viability. The alternative is that the government can take control of GM and keep it alive with a continuous stream of subsidies to cover the labor costs.

It also wouldn’t surprise me if the Democratic-controlled government attempts to “help out” the UAW by assisting them in cramming union contracts down the throats of the presently non-union foreign-controlled auto factories in the South. That will have repercussions of a different but equally exciting nature.