07 May 2009

Obama's Flawed Auto Logic

Manny Lopez of The Detroit News has written a wonderful editorial that succintly shines a light on Washington's latest antics concerning the auto industry.


Lopez begins:

President Barack Obama insists he doesn't want to run the domestic auto industry -- and we should all be thankful for that.

But his actions speak differently -- and we should all be worried.

"... I rejected the original restructuring plan" that Chrysler LLC submitted for government loans, he said April 30 in announcing his decision to force Chrysler into bankruptcy. "... And the standard I set was high -- I challenged them to design a plan ..."

That's a lot of self promotion and involvement from a guy who doesn't want to control the companies.
The article then goes on to expose how hedge funds were vilified, the ignorance concerning the industry in Washington, and the agenda of those involved.

If you want a quick, easy and accurate assessment of the situation than Manny comes through (and he does it without steroid enhancement like his Californian namesake).

This is a must read:

2 comments :

  1. Lynne said...

    When are you IDIOTS going to give it up already I guess t republicans just don't have any common sense

  2. Khaki Elephant said...

    Great insight, Lynne.
    You're right! How did we not see the Obama common sense of firing the head of GM in favor of his own pick (that bit of "common sense" led to GM stock reaching $1 yesterday -- hurray, Obama!) Or the Obama common sense of a 30-day deadline for Chrysler to sell themselves to a foreign company of go bankrupt (that bit of "common sense" led to Chrysler bankruptcy and their announcement today that they will close dealers, costing around 40,000 jobs and we haven't even gotten to the plants -- hurray, Obama!) Or the Obama common sense of appointing a car czar and a federal automotive panel made up entirely of members who've never worked in the industry (that bit of "common sense" has led to instability that is about to launch the greatest surge in industry unemployment the country has seen -- hurray, Obama!)

    Let's see, Lynne. Obama pledge to create 3,000,000 jobs in the first years and so far we have lose 2,000,000 under his watch. Common sense (and basic math) tells us that he now needs to produce 5,000,000 jobs to keep his promise (and that doesn't even include the wave of job losses we can expect over the next few months).

    Are you holding you're breath, Lynne. Is this your common sense?