Thursday, November 13, 2008

The auto industry deserves equal treatment

Since more jobs and families' lives depend on the auto industry, and related/supportive businesses (dealerships, parts, etc.) than, say, AIG, the same offer of help should be extended by the federal government.
It is interesting that the Bush administration's Treasury Dept. INCREASED the bailout of AIG by $25 billion ... without blinking an eyelash ... or much discussion. YET people are up in arms about ... THE SAME AMOUNT going to help the Big 3. What gives?!?
The auto assistance would help MORE MIDDLE CLASS families than anything to AIG, whose brain-dead executives have been openly flaunting their lavish spending at spas, resorts, etc. with their "let them eat cake" attitude. Why these people aren't headed to jail is a mystery rivaling "Who Shot J.R.?"
I would ask anyone who disagrees with the auto assistance (I refrian from using the term "bailout;" it is a LOAN) to reconcile the AIG fiasco, including the $25 billiob unexplained add-on, with an industry that affects some 1.2 MILLION workers and families.
Which ONE is really more important to the nation's economic health?
Full disclosure: As a native Detroiter, I grew up soaked in what the Big 3 meant to everyone in that city, state and region. Remember, it's just NOT Detroit on the line here but scores of towns with auto assembly factories OR who make auto-related items (mufflers, window glass, tires, engine parts, and brake pads ... and not just Callahan Brake Pads) or who sell and repair them ...
AND for all you NASCAR fans, watch to see if there isn't a MAJOR cutback/dropoff in participation in that sport. A left turn isn't the only "turn" drivers and teams will have to face; welcome to the reality of the DOWNTURN.

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