Let The Automakers Fail
Nov 9, 2008 Political
What is it with the American government and businesses? If businesses, such as oil companies, are successful then government wants to punish them with windfall profits taxes and if businesses are unsuccessful government wants to bail them out.
The big three automakers are asking Congress for $50 BILLION to bail them out of their financial messes. The automakers are responsible for their problems and they should have to deal with the consequences of how they are run. If they fail then they can go out of business or be bought up by someone who runs things better.
American automakers are held hostage by their union employees and the company has had to capitulate over and over to union demands for more money and more benefits while the companies have been losing ground to makers of foreign cars. The unions are part of the undoing of the companies and their hard line tactics will keep them from competing with other car makers for some time to come. In all reality, how do they justify demanding that some moron who attaches door frames receive more money than people in jobs that require much more skill?
Let the companies deal with their own problems and keep our government and our tax dollars out of the issue.
This appears, to me, to be nothing more than Democrats repaying the unions for their undying support. Nancy Pelosi is opposed to drilling for more oil and believes we need to take more public transportation and yet she wants to spend taxpayer money to bailout an industry that is based upon the use of fossil fuels.
These unions backed the Democrats and their messiah and now they expect a return on their investment. We need to band together and tell Congress that it is not their job to interfere in private business and they are not authorized to spend taxpayer money on such endeavors.
If the automakers want to start making money again then they need to get a handle on the union thugs bankrupting them and they need to start building cars that Americans want.
Until then let them sink or survive on their own, without government intervention. If it means they go out of business and their workers are unemployed then so be it.
Of course, I guess it won’t be long before the Democrats require us to buy cars from these businesses.
Hell, they impose their will on us in plenty of other ways, why not that?
Sources:
Washington Post | Breitbart | Bloomberg
If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader.
Tags: automakers, bailout, Democrats, unions
The Bailout Pork Bill And Responsibility
Oct 4, 2008 Political
The bailout bill just passed by the Congress and signed into law contained billions of dollars in Christmas Tree ornaments that had nothing to do with bailing anyone out. These items, including provisions for tax cuts, were added to entice politicians to vote for it. We have no business bailing out Wall Street and we have effectively taken 700 billion steps in the direction of Communism*.
I heard Jesse Jackson on Neil Cavuto’s show and Jackson said the bill did not go far enough (surprise) and that if we can give low interest loans to auto makers (we should not be doing that) we should be able to do the same for homeowners. Jackson contended that people should get low interest rate loans from the government in order to restructure their debt and continue to pay for their homes. He insisted that the predatory lending practices led to their problems. Cavuto told him that while some predatory lending took place people were the ones who signed the dotted line. He said they needed to take responsibility for their actions and if they wanted to renegotiate it was up to them to do it with the people from whom they obtained their loans.
This is absolutely correct. Homeowners need to renegotiate with their lenders to get a better deal. It is not up to taxpayers to lend money to them regardless of whether they will pay it back or not. If they default then taxpayers will be left holding the bag (much as we are with Freddie and Fannie loans). Jackson wants to take personal responsibility away from people and have big government come in and take care of them. We no more belong doing that than we belong taking care of bankers or auto makers.
The market should be allowed to react in whatever direction the crisis leads it. People and businesses with money can come in and buy up failing businesses or they can go away. Allow the market to handle the crisis and leave the politicians who caused the problems out of it.
If Jackson thinks people have no responsibility in the contracts that they make and that government should bail them out then we should have some provisions which include a loss of voting rights if you become a ward of the government. If you are not able to understand a contract to buy a home and can be easily swayed then you are unable to understand the voting system and can be just as easily manipulated.
The bottom 50% of wage earners pay only about 4% of the taxes in this country so they will not be affected by the bailout as much as those who will see tax increases in order to pay for this mess. The voting system needs to be changed so that people are afforded more votes if they pay more in taxes. Perhaps each person gets one vote and then people get an additional vote for every $5000 in taxes that they pay. The people who pay for this country should have a greater say in how it is governed much like stockholders in a company who have more votes if they have more stock.
Whether Wall Street executives or distressed homeowners, the philosophy is the same; live with your decisions. If they cause you problems then you can work your way out and be all that much stronger for it.
If government steps in and fixes your bad decisions you will continue to make them. We get more of what we subsidize.
*I heard this phrase on TV but do not know who said it.
Tags: bailout, communism, jesse jackson, pork, taxes
Taxpayers Write Economic Stimulus Checks
Oct 3, 2008 Political
The House passed the Senate version of the 700 billion dollar economic stimulus bill that requires taxpayers, their children and grandchildren to write checks to the government in order to pay the tab. The final vote was 263-171 in favor of raping taxpayers in order to pay for the failed policies of the Democratic party and their refusal to listen to warnings from people in the Bush administration.
Nancy Pelosi was smiling as she praised Barney Frank for his leadership and masterful skill in negotiating this bill. Barny Frank is the dim bulb who said that there was no problem with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the entities widely recognized as the root of the problem. Bill O’Reilly beat Frank to death last night over this issue but Frank was too dense to acknowledge his complicity in the process.
The amount of money that the taxpayer is forced to cough up for this bailout is staggering and anyone who thinks that 700 billion is the end of it is nuts. This number was a guess and there is no guarantee that it will do what everyone hopes it will. It is possible that the money will be infused into the market and it will still tank and we will be back where we started but much poorer. The Congressional answer will be more money.
Barack Obama will add trillions of dollars of spending if he becomes president, especially if he has a big enough majority in both chambers. These people are writing checks that future generations will be working to cash. To top it off they are promising more regulation coming from the same people who ignored the problem or failed to see it coming despite repeated warning.
America, it is time to take control of government. We must vote every member of the House out of office. Show them your displeasure. Do not let them fool you by saying they voted no because they were politically protected from the vote in order to secure your vote and their jobs. Get rid of all of them and the one thrid of the Senate that is up for reelection.
We must take control of our country. They do not listen to us. They just do what they want despite overwhelming objection from the public. They are spending our money like drunken sailors on shore leave [apologies to sailors] and it has to stop. The only way we can do that is to make them pay for their failures.
Just say no to incumbents.
Tags: bailout, screwed, taxpayer, wall street
Stop The Bail Out Now
Sep 23, 2008 Political
I have written that I understand the reason for the bailout but that I am not happy with it. The government should not be in the business of giving taxpayer money to businesses that are failing because they were mismanaged. It makes no difference if the market turned, it was greed, or they did not know what they were doing. The fact is, taxpayers do not share the wealth when these companies make money and we should not pay for the problems when they don’t.
The government is moving toward socialism where it will own, subsidize or underwrite everything. This is not the America I grew up in and it is not the America I want to leave to my grandchildren.
The reality is that the federal government is unable to do things effectively and they are irresponsible with our money. That’s right our money. In addition to the fiasco and huge expense that Treasury Secretary Paulson is working on to bailout his buddies in the financial world, the government is adding many items to the bailout showing once again that they cannot wait to spend our money. The Washington Times reports:
In the dark of night over the weekend when most people were snoozing, the Treasury dramatically expanded its bailout plan to include buying student loans, car loans, credit card debt and any other “troubled” assets held by banks.
The changes, which were included in draft language that also opened the bailout program to foreign banks with extensive loan operations in the United States, potentially added tens of billions of dollars to the cost of the program.
Although it was a major addition to what was already the nation’s largest-ever bailout, it did not become part of the debate between Democrats and the Treasury over details of the program. A Monday counterproposal by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd included such consumer loans as well as mortgages, just as the Treasury’s draft did Saturday night.
When exactly are people going to be held accountable for their own risks in life? The financial geniuses who make millions of dollars in salaries are still rich while the country pays for their sins. Now, the government is adding people who made bad decisions with their credit and students who finance their schooling to the program.
Let me be clear; IT IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TAXPAYER TO PAY FOR ANY OF THIS.
People who are in credit card debt or have car loans that they cannot afford have no one to blame but themselves. Students who take out loans for an education are making an investment in their future. I wonder how these students would act if their future earnings were given to taxpayers. It is, after all, only fair. If we pay for your car, house or credit cards then we deserve to have the things you bought. This idea that the world will end if people or businesses fail is ridiculous.
We need to end this whole bailout now. ALL OF IT. If AIG and other companies, including foreign banks, are going to fail than let them fail. This is a buyer’s opportunity to pick up cheap investments. Lehman Brothers is being purchased, Constellation Energy is being purchased (by a Warren Buffet company) and there are many (like Buffet) looking for bargains. If a company fails there are people who will buy them on the cheap and have a go at making them successful. If no one buys them then they can go out of business.
It is a shame that people lose their jobs as a result of mismanagement and the ineptitude of the corrupt government but that is not the fault of the taxpayer.
John McCain needs to oppose this bailout. He needs to provide real leadership and show that he truly is against government waste because surely, this bailout is just that. The money is designed to let Paulson help his buddies and it is designed to allow politicians claim they were there to help during a time of crisis. This is particularly important to them because it is an election year and they are the ones who helped cause it.
Look at the items added. Christopher Dodd added consumer loans. He is the criminal most responsible. He has his Countrywide VIP loan that saved him $75,000 and he failed, to act early on when President Bush, on 17 occasions, warned of trouble and tried to get something done. The last things we need are the people who caused this mess to be the ones overseeing its cleanup. Yes, greed on Wall Street is partly responsible but to be fair, many mortgage companies were following the inane law that allows people with no hope of affording a house to buy one. Did they [financial companies] abuse the process? You bet and they should be held accountable.
Everyone involved should be held accountable. We can do this by:
- Getting rid of the CEOs and ensuring they do not receive a severance.
- Take back some of the untold millions these people made through greed and shady practices
- Stop the bailout and let unsound companies fail (or be bought up)
- Vote for the non incumbent challenger in all 435 House seats (thereby replacing the entire House)
- Vote for the non incumbent challenger in all contested Senate seats (thereby replacing 1/3 of the Senate)
- Hold people accountable for their own loans. If they fail they will learn a valuable lesson. If we bail them out, they will not
It is time for a shake up in DC. We need to replace all of these criminals so that they are held accountable for their misdeeds.
It is also time we held our fellow citizens accountable for their actions. Ron Paul has an excellent piece on this. He states exactly what I believe:
Additionally, the government’s actions encourage moral hazard of the worst sort. Now that the precedent has been set, the likelihood of financial institutions to engage in riskier investment schemes is increased, because they now know that an investment position so overextended as to threaten the stability of the financial system will result in a government bailout and purchase of worthless, illiquid assets.
I would add that this extends to any individual who takes risky decisions and is bailed out by the government.
Big Dog Salute to Raven who, as usual, is on top of things.
Others:
Texas Pundit
Tags: bailout, corruption, dodd, mortgage companies, paulson, sham, taxpayer fraud