Byron Dorgan (D- ND)on the Automobile Industry bailout
"It was the financial institutions that drove America into the ditch..."
Hmm. I wonder if Congressional oversight (or the absence thereof) had any part to play in that? Senator Dorgan was strangely silent on that point!
The proposal is to give the automakers $25 Billion (with a "B") dollars. Senator Dorgan minimizes this by saying that it's "less than 3%" of the $700 Billion bailout for financial institutions. His math skills are a little weak: $25 Billion is a little over three and a half percent of $700 Billion. "Half percent?" That adds up to real money really quickly when you're talking about $700 Billion dollars!
A better argument would be based on what principle the bailout is based on, rather than what percentage of a bad deal might be spent on a worse deal. Senator Dorgan's mantra is we do it for "the jobs", rather like the liberal's shibboleth: "It's for the children"
Dorgan's is a band-aid approach that in no way seeks to cure the systemic problems of the economy. But, it's sure to play well to the UAW and Dorgan's base.
Update: During the roundtable discussion, Charles Krauthammer made the point that any automobile bailout, that did not require significant restructuring, would prevent restructuring and maintain the current inefficient and unsustainable structures in the auto industry as they are today. In other words, a complete waste of money.
Cross Posted at Say Anything
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