Bailout Watch 132: "That's Not Welfare"

Detroit News auto jeffe Manny Lopez seems to think there’s orchestrated opposition to a Motown bailout. In this he could not be more wrong. Not a single elected representative has come out against federal mammary provision to Motowns’ mavens. Lest we forget, Senator John McCain reversed his anti-Detroit-bailout rhetoric in time for the election. Besides, the $25b Department of Energy is a done deal, and TARP provisions for Detroit’s captive lenders are on their way. Still, paranoia rules! “I’m not buying the ‘Let Detroit die’ line that’s being promoted by people across the country. It’s tired. It’s simplistic. And it’s misguided… Most notably the jobs that would be lost, though the ‘thought leaders’ on the coasts and politicos in Washington, D.C., don’t seem to be giving that much consideration. Carly Fiorina is among them. The former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Corp. said in Detroit this week that the government can’t rescue the auto industry. ‘The auto industry cannot be saved from its own bad bets,’ she told the Detroit Economic Club.” Now THAT took some balls. Not that Manny’s ready to cede the point (as if). But it does inspire some classic “this is not my beautiful welfare” rhetoric.

“Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who argue that helping the auto industry weather one of the worst markets in 15 years, or provide a boost in the way of tax breaks or research and development credits to meet the fuel economy mandates Congress has imposed is tantamount to ‘welfare.’ That’s not welfare. Welfare is what hundreds of thousands of workers and their families across the nation will seek if the domestic car companies fail. Unemployment levels will skyrocket. Small businesses will fold. Even more houses will go into foreclosure. Birds will drop from the sky. The seas shall roil in protest. The bowels of the earth shall open forth and disgorge a beast of incalculable evil.” Just kidding.

Anyway, Manny’s conclusion is surprisingly… conflicted. Unintentionally honest? You be the judge. “Detroit doesn’t deserve any handouts. But it doesn’t deserve to be buried alive, either.” Huh.