Bailout Watch 226: Senate Reaches Compromise on Bailout Bill

by Robert Farago

Published: November 20th, 2008

bailout watch 226 senate reaches compromise on bailout bill

MSNBC is reporting that auto-state senators’ aides say they’ve reached a compromise to throw money at “speed emergency loans” to Chrysler, Ford and GM. And speed is the drug of choice here. After The Big 2.8’s CEO shot themselves in their collective feet in front of a Senate committee charged with rubber-stamping the $25b deal, Republicans and Democrats knocked some heads together. The peacock people say the as-yet-unnamed legislators plan to present their proposal at a mid-afternoon news conference today (Thursday). The plan: the president’s plan. The bi-polar, I mean partisan, I mean bi-partisan group will attempt to “divert” money from the already approved $25b Department of Energy Loans– to tide Detroit over until the incoming prez can do his part to subsidize the failing automakers with taxpayer funds. But folks, as this Bailout Watch originally postulated, this is NOT a done deal. Far, far, from it. And I’ll tell you why…

The New York Times reports that Representative Henry A. Waxman has just waxed Representative John D. Dingell of Michigan. The California Democrat will replace Dingell as the chairman of the influential Committee on Energy and Commerce. That’s the committee that cranked-out the original $25b Department of Energy loans upon which the compromise crew have their beady eyes affixed. Waxman is a tree hugger’s tree hugger. As we saw during the Senate hearing on the previous bailout– or is that the ante-penultimate bailout?– the Democrats are FULLY committed to forcing Detroit to increase vehicular efficiency.

They didn’t like the previous compromise on Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE standards). They ain’t gonna like this usurpation one bit. It could very well be payback time for Detroit’s anti-CAFE lobbying. Curiouser and curiouser.

Robert Farago

More by Robert Farago

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 6 comments

Conslaw on Nov 20, 2008

I don't see what they're making a big deal about. I'm as much for energy efficiency as the next guy, but I know that if the D3 aren't around to make ANY cars, they sure as hell won't be around to make energy-efficient cars. Early next year, President Obama will have the opportunity to revisit what's left of the $700 billion TARP fund, and he'll have to come up with a comprehensive energy plan. The energy plan will be a multiple hundred billion dollar plan itself. At that time, he can propose before a Democrat-dominated congress that they take $25 billion out of TARP and put it into the energy plan.

Like Reply
Geo. Levecque on Nov 20, 2008

The News says that the new date for the Detroit 3 is Dec.8th to provide a proper Business plan to the Banking committee, guess they are hard at work, throwing something together that will pass muster eh?

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Honda1 Unions were needed back in the early days, not needed know. There are plenty of rules and regulations and government agencies that keep companies in line. It's just a money grad and nothing more. Fain is a punk!
1995 SC If the necessary number of employees vote to unionize then yes, they should be unionized. That's how it works.
Sobhuza Trooper That Dave Thomas fella sounds like the kind of twit who is oh-so-quick to tell us how easy and fun the bus is for any and all of your personal transportation needs. The time to get to and from the bus stop is never a concern. The time waiting for the bus is never a concern. The time waiting for a connection (if there is one) is never a concern. The weather is never a concern. Whatever you might be carrying or intend to purchase is never a concern. Nope, Boo Cars! Yeah Buses! Buses rule!Needless to say, these twits don't actual take the damn bus.
MaintenanceCosts Nobody here seems to acknowledge that there are multiple use cases for cars.Some people spend all their time driving all over the country and need every mile and minute of time savings. ICE cars are better for them right now.Some people only drive locally and fly when they travel. For them, there's probably a range number that works, and they don't really need more. For the uses for which we use our EV, that would be around 150 miles. The other thing about a low range requirement is it can make 120V charging viable. If you don't drive more than an average of about 40 miles/day, you can probably get enough electrons through a wall outlet. We spent over two years charging our Bolt only through 120V, while our house was getting rebuilt, and never had an issue.Those are extremes. There are all sorts of use cases in between, which probably represent the majority of drivers. For some users, what's needed is more range. But I think for most users, what's needed is better charging. Retrofit apartment garages like Tim's with 240V outlets at every spot. Install more L3 chargers in supermarket parking lots and alongside gas stations. Make chargers that work like Tesla Superchargers as ubiquitous as gas stations, and EV charging will not be an issue for most users.
MaintenanceCosts I don't have an opinion on whether any one plant unionizing is the right answer, but the employees sure need to have the right to organize. Unions or the credible threat of unionization are the only thing, history has proven, that can keep employers honest. Without it, we've seen over and over, the employers have complete power over the workers and feel free to exploit the workers however they see fit. (And don't tell me "oh, the workers can just leave" - in an oligopolistic industry, working conditions quickly converge, and there's not another employer right around the corner.)