The American auto industry is in very bad shape. If the American auto industry goes, so do at least 3 million American jobs. The CEO's of Ford, GM, and Chrysler have been asking for a 35 billion dollar loan from congress in order to help their companies stay afloat. Recently, congress apporved of a 17.4 billion dollar loan, almost 20 billion smaller than what they were asking for. Unfortunately, this money is slowly dissapearing with absolutely nothing to show for it. The companies have continued to go on with their old ways, and have not figured out a way to become competitive with foreign auto comapanies like Toyota, Nissan, Honda, etc. Congress handed over this loan with almost zero conditions, just asking that the auto companies get their wage structure in line with foreign carmakers.
I think that congress and the Bush administration did a horrible job with the auto bailout situation. I think that congress should have told GM, Chrysler, and Ford that if we (government) are going to give you (auto industry) this loan, you (auto industry) must completely change your way of doing business, which has obviously not been working. Instead, government asked the auto industry to cut wages, making the middle class poorer, and aside from that the auto industry has been going on with business as usual. Michael Moore wrote a letter to the American public in which he was also very critical of how congress and the Bush Administration handled the auto bailout situation, please take a minute to read it. (Note that Moore was very critical of the republicans in his letter, blaming them for the cut in autoworker wages that congress voted upon. I disagree with Moore in this regard, because the Democrats have the majority in congress, and the bill would not have passed if it were not for a majority vote.)
Friends,
They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers start building only cars and mass transit that reduce our dependency on oil.
They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers build cars that reduce global warming.
They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers withdraw their many lawsuits against state governments in their attempts to not comply with our environmental laws.
They could have given the loan on the condition that the management team which drove these once-great manufacturers into the ground resign and be replaced with a team who understands the transportation needs of the 21st century.
Yes, they could have given the loan for any of these reasons because, in the end, to lose our manufacturing infrastructure and throw 3 million people out of work would be a catastrophe.
But instead, the Senate said, we'll give you the loan only if the factory workers take a $20 an hour cut in wages, pension and health care. That's right. After giving BILLIONS to Wall Street hucksters and criminal investment bankers -- billions with no strings attached and, as we have since learned, no oversight whatsoever -- the Senate decided it is more important to break a union, more important to throw middle class wage earners into the ranks of the working poor than to prevent the total collapse of industrial America.
We have a little more than a month to go of this madness. As I sit here in Michigan today, tens of thousands of hard working, honest, decent Americans do not believe they can make it to January 20th. The malaise here is astounding. Why must they suffer because of the mistakes of every CEO from Roger Smith to Rick Wagoner? Make management and the boards of directors and the shareholders pay for this.
Of course that is heresy to the 31 Republicans who decided to blame the poor, miserable autoworkers for this mess. And our wonderful media complied with their spin on the morning news shows: "UAW Refuses to Give Concessions Killing Auto Bailout Bill." In fact the UAW has given concession after concession, reduced their benefits, agreed to get rid of the Jobs Bank and agreed to make it harder for their retirees to live from week to week. Yes! That's what we need to do! It's the Jobs Bank and the old people who have led the nation to economic ruin!
But even doing all that wasn't enough to satisfy the bastard Republicans. These Senate vampires wanted blood. Blue collar blood. You see, they weren't opposed to the bailout because they believed in the free market or capitalism. No, they were opposed to the bailout because they're opposed to workers making a decent wage. In their rage, they were driven to destroy the backbone of this country, not because the UAW hadn't given back enough, but because the UAW hadn't given up.
It appears that the sitting President has been looking for a way to end his reign by one magnanimous act, just like a warlord on his feast day. He will put his finger in the dyke, and the fragile mess of an auto industry will eke through the next few months.
That will give the Senate enough time to demand that the bankers and investment sharks who've already swiped nearly half of the $700 billion gift a chance to make the offer of cutting their pay.
Fat chance.
Yours,
Michael Moore
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