Bailout Watch 23: Get Your Snouts Out of the Trough!

bailout watch 23 get your snouts out of the trough

In the run-up to a $50b taxpayer-sponsored handout, Detroit is beginning to fret about congressional oversight/investigation (as detailed in our latest General Motors Death Watch). Detroit News Auto Editor Manny Lopez sees the danger. “GM, Ford and Chrysler are not charitable organizations though they’ve acted like it in the past with everything from labor contracts to benefits and executive salaries. They cannot afford to let that continue. They’re lobbying hard for direct government loans to help bring them out of their automotive abyss, but that can’t happen until they plug a few more holes in the proverbial belt and tighten it even further.” Notice the weak language: “a few more holes.” Yes, while Lopez praises Detroit for tightening-up on (i.e. suing) a handful of employees for violating employee discounts regs, and chides an unnamed automaker for serving non-proverbial “hand-battered pecan crusted whitefish” in its executive dining rooms, he only makes the previously mentioned passing mention re: executive compensation. Hello? Rick Wagoner banked $15.5m last year. Lopez’ half-hearted call for reform tells us that Detroit has more to worry about than it expects. A quick email to your senator would help in that regard.

Join the conversation
4 of 10 comments
  • Pnnyj Pnnyj on Sep 04, 2008
    MichaelJ : September 4th, 2008 at 10:54 am RoweAS: Since I’m a taxpaying American, I think I AM (or will be) loaning GM my money. However, my point wasn’t to argue creditworthiness. Creditworthiness is exactly the issue. It doesn't matter if you call it a loan. If the "borrower" has no prospect of ever paying the money back then it's a bailout.

  • RoweAS RoweAS on Sep 04, 2008

    pnnyj : Thanks, that was my implied point.

  • Highrpm Highrpm on Sep 04, 2008

    They already have your money. The question is should they loan the money to the domestics in hopes of a recovery, or use the money on ethanol research or other pie-in-the sky programs for Energy Independence. If the money goes unused, then who knows what will happen to it. It will be sent to Georgia (the country) or something. Nowadays it seems like every country in the world has one hand out for US aid, and the other hand is holding up the middle finger with an "F-U America" salute.

  • Hal Hal on Sep 05, 2008

    @highrpm: The government doesn't have your money, or at least has spent whatever money you sent it twice and is already deep in the hole . Any money lent to GM by the govt would have to be borrowed first...