"Dear Secretary Paulson:"
"We are writing to request that you review the feasibility of invoking the authority Congress provided you under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) for the purpose of providing temporary assistance to the automobile industry during the current financial crisis...A healthy automobile manufacturing sector is essential to the restoration of financial market stability, the overall health of our economy, and the livelihood of the automobile sector’s workforce.""The economic downturn and the crisis in our financial markets further imperiled our domestic automobile industry and its workforce. On Thursday, we separately met with the leaders of the automobile industry, and its top union representative, to discuss the financial challenges confronting the industry and its workforce, and possible actions to address these challenges. We left the meetings convinced that our nation’s automobile industry - the heart of our manufacturing sector - and the jobs of tens of thousands of American workers are at risk. Friday’s news of the automobile industry’s record low sales figures only reaffirm the need for urgent action....."
"Were you to determine that the automobile industry is eligible for assistance under EESA, we would urge you to impose strong conditions on such assistance in order to protect taxpayers and maximize the potential for the industry’s recovery. An automobile industry that is forward-looking and focused on ingenuity, competitiveness, and the creation of green jobs for the future is essential to its long-term viability...."
Oh man oh man oh man. Are autos the "heart of our manufacturing sector?" are the "big" 3 really essential to the "restoration of financial market stability (and) the overall health of our economy"?? Is mandating "green jobs" even one of the top 1000 conditions that should be put on aid to automakers?
What do you think people? Who will be next to belly up to the bar?
4 comments:
I'm thinking of asking for a mere $1 million myself.
makes sense. after all, "A healthy robert s porter sector is essential to the restoration of financial market stability, the overall health of our economy, and the livelihood of the porter sector’s workforce."
Airlines. Airlines will be the next belly up to the bar.
Pelosi and co. want to make sure that when the GM dies in the next few months, they will have done everything they could, but it was X's fault.
This is classic cap hill manuvering, i.e. even though you have the power to do something- like pass legislation and appropriate $ - find someone else end ask them to do it instead. My guess is that Mr. P will send a nice letter back next week saying that he would like to, but gubmint lawyers agree that the bailout doesn't provide coverage for GM. Then, in the lamest duck session, Pelosi will attach an innocuous amendment to the stimulus bill that no one will notice giving Mr. P authority. Then Mr. P will say he would like to, but GM is dead and he is leaving Dec. 1 to spend more time with his family.
I think the most important issue here is who are GM's lobbyists, and why didn't they get language into the bailout to cover them in the first place?
anonyman for O
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