The UAW
Powerline has another great post on the Chrysler debacle and how the Federal government is circumventing bankruptcy law in order to let the UAW get what they want. The unions will own majority stakes in Chrysler and GM by the time this is done. They will never be profitable, and like Amtrak, the American taxpayer will subsidize cars that no one will buy.
The UAW is the mob and the government is paying them their due tribute. If Card Check advances, which I believe it will, the unions will grow even more powerful. But as Powerline notes, if the banks get screwed in this re-org with Chrysler and GM, good luck finding a bank to put up big bucks to union shops going forward.
The UAW is the mob and the government is paying them their due tribute. If Card Check advances, which I believe it will, the unions will grow even more powerful. But as Powerline notes, if the banks get screwed in this re-org with Chrysler and GM, good luck finding a bank to put up big bucks to union shops going forward.
Comments
I think that the whole "Bail out this company because if it goes under, the economy will fall" idea is dangerously out of whack. Lets look at the problem in a more micro view.
If a city has 200 citizens and the primary industry is making widgets, with 60% of the city's inhabitants working for the widget construction company "A", what happens when a new widget company comes to town?
This whole problem is based on the idea that my industry is *so* vital to the very fabric of society that if new widget manufacturer "B", is allowed to persist, the town will die. But, that simply isn't true. The federal government overlooks situations like this hundreds of times a year. Business is like nature, only the strong survive. If widget company "A" cannot find a way to overcome the new company, then they will die out. It isn't a personal thing. The city may have some out of work widget makers, but in the end, those widget makers will either find a new job with company "B" or they will get a new skill. Life is about learning and adapting.
If GM is so important to the economy why is there not a cabinet position for them? Why not GE and Microsoft also? We could have a "Secretary of Corporations", they could serve the ideas of keeping large corporations in business. I am certain there wouldn't be any corruption with that gig.
When google came on the scene they absolutely destroyed smaller search providers, and many people lost their jobs, but those people moved to new employment. The government didn't bail out the automobile manufacturer Packard, though they existed for 60 years. When the manufacturer could no longer compete, it was allowed to go. It is time to stop coddling these corporations, they hide their assets from taxes; and still the American consumer is forced to pay. I am tired of paying for more cars than I have in my driveway. I pay over $400 for the GM car in my driveway, and as a tax payer, I am paying for more, unwanted cars to roll off the GM assembly line every day.