White House Nixes Supplier Aid
The WSJ reports that the Treasury has turned down an $8-$10 billion request by the OEM Supplier Association for aid to struggling auto supply firms. Department of The Treasury spokesfolks refuse to shed any light on the issue, but OEMSA President Neil De Koker tells the WSJ that PTFOA member Ron Bloom spiked the request because “they felt that unless we see chaos or a disorderly situation arising where have assembly-line shutdown due to lack of ability to get parts or stuff like that, then we would relook at this sitation, but that at the present time we believe everything is working.” The Journal goes as far as to credit this with decision with signaling “that the Obama administration wants to draw the line on how much taxpayer money it will spend on the U.S. auto industry.” That, or they know that supplier bankruptcies have been part and parcel of the US car biz for years now, and they’re keeping the powder dry for future OEM requests.
In a move that echoes a point brought up in our first vidcast (since pulled for atrocious sound/video quality), the OEMSA is now lobbying congress to pass supplier aid. As Farago put it, whose car company is this anyway? If the PTFOA and congress don’t get on the same page with a coherent strategy, expect more executive/legislative clash on these issues. Because in Washington, no tough decision goes un-grandstanded against.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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I'm confused. Part of me likes knowing that there may be an end in sight to the bailout buffet. Another part of me is thinking, "Soooo...you're going to wait until after the shit hits the fan to turn it off? Hunh."
Ok, so does anybody know how I, Derm81, can apply for some aid from Mr. Obama? I'd say I need about 4-5 million dollars. Can we make this happen?