The Big 3 bailout you didn't know about
Automakers quietly seek billions during U.S. financial crisis
If you read mainstream media reports, you might conclude the government's bailouts of Freddie, Fannie and AIG are the only ones making headway in Washington, D.C.
You would be wrong.
You would be wrong.
In what is certain to be the most extensive round of government intervention in U.S. history, the auto industry has used the cover of the financial services meltdown to make sure its government bailout goes through without a hitch.
Clearly, among the few in the country who can find a silver lining while the nation's attention has been consumed by the $700 billion bailout, are the auto executives of the Big 3 – General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. They have managed, under the radar, to quietly move ahead their own planned billion dollar bailout.
As Red Alert reported at the end of August, GM, Ford and Chrysler are seeking up to $50 billion in low-interest government-backed loans, double the $25 billion approved last year as part of an energy bill.
The U.S. auto industry, wracked by unexpectedly high gas prices this year, has found itself once again producing the wrong models at the wrong time.
Repeating a historically embarrassing inability to predict consumer preferences, the U.S. Big 3 are flush with an inventory of SUVs and large pickup trucks at a time when consumers are begging for smaller European-style minivans and more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids.
Last week, U.S. News & World Report suggested the $25 billion loan-guarantee bailout for the Big 3 automakers may be passed by Congress and signed by President Bush as early as this weekend. Certainly, it will be done without any fanfare, especially if the financial services bailout is finalized and ready for the president's signature at about the same time.
Reuters confirmed the auto deal cleared a major hurdle last Wed., Sept. 24, when the House passed the $25 billion loan guarantee measure as part of a "larger, must-pass spending bill."
Reuters also reported the Senate is expected to follow through swiftly and pass the legislative package so President Bush can sign it into law by Oct. 1, this Wednesday.
Ironically, George W. Bush, who in 2000 was considered a conservative president, will have a legacy of having run up some of the largest federal budget deficits in history, while also having undermined the private economy. It will not have been by government regulations, but by outright government takeovers and bailouts many consider takeovers.
Clearly, among the few in the country who can find a silver lining while the nation's attention has been consumed by the $700 billion bailout, are the auto executives of the Big 3 – General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. They have managed, under the radar, to quietly move ahead their own planned billion dollar bailout.
As Red Alert reported at the end of August, GM, Ford and Chrysler are seeking up to $50 billion in low-interest government-backed loans, double the $25 billion approved last year as part of an energy bill.
The U.S. auto industry, wracked by unexpectedly high gas prices this year, has found itself once again producing the wrong models at the wrong time.
Repeating a historically embarrassing inability to predict consumer preferences, the U.S. Big 3 are flush with an inventory of SUVs and large pickup trucks at a time when consumers are begging for smaller European-style minivans and more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids.
Last week, U.S. News & World Report suggested the $25 billion loan-guarantee bailout for the Big 3 automakers may be passed by Congress and signed by President Bush as early as this weekend. Certainly, it will be done without any fanfare, especially if the financial services bailout is finalized and ready for the president's signature at about the same time.
Reuters confirmed the auto deal cleared a major hurdle last Wed., Sept. 24, when the House passed the $25 billion loan guarantee measure as part of a "larger, must-pass spending bill."
Reuters also reported the Senate is expected to follow through swiftly and pass the legislative package so President Bush can sign it into law by Oct. 1, this Wednesday.
Ironically, George W. Bush, who in 2000 was considered a conservative president, will have a legacy of having run up some of the largest federal budget deficits in history, while also having undermined the private economy. It will not have been by government regulations, but by outright government takeovers and bailouts many consider takeovers.
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