- Jun 6, 2007
- 852
- 483
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The Senate Republicans failed America again in their obstruction on the U.S. automaker
bridge loan legislation, they again twisted their conservative ideals to seek political advantage on a matter of vital importance to America. The Democrats and the White Houses plan was a great plan which would have created enormous and almost certainly compelling pressure on the U.S. automakers to restructure and become long-term viable. The Republican senators insistence that the UAW immediately accept the same compensation terms as foreign automakers workers was unreasonable, unwarranted and arbitrary and so was the Republican senators insistence that U.S. automakers immediately reduce their debt by two-thirds. The Republican senators turned this whole matter into a competition and not a matter where the American peoples interest were being best served. The three to four dollar difference in U.S. automaker workers wages over foreign automakers wages was not sufficient enough to justify blocking this rescue plan for the U.S. automakers, with respect to health insurance the UAW absolutely needed to dramatically improve the co-pay terms of the plan and dramatically improve the percentage of the premiums they pay to make their insurance plan a mainstream type but a requirement to convert to foreign automaker workers high deductable insurance plan was totally uncalled for; these high deductable insurance plans are better than nothing for workers faced with the option of having no health insurance but these high deductable plans from a practicable standpoint result in people not seeing doctors when they should where serious health problems can be picked up - a plan to put the American people into high deductable health insurance coverage is a plan which fails the American people. A requirement the U.S. automakers immediately reduce their debt by two-thirds was wrong because it was unrealistic for the debt amounts at issue here are tens of billions of dollars the respective parties need to be given some months to work out a cut in the debt load in that general amount. The republican senators should have agreed to kick all these issues to the U.S. automaker czar, the legislation would have created, who could have handled all these matters in a reasonable and professional matter and satisfactorily protected the American peoples interests.
This whole matter involving Republican grand standing here smells. It sure seems that Republican senators have two standards one for their allies in the financial industries and another for ordinary working people where initiatives helping ordinary working people are held to a higher conservative principles standard. I havent seen Republican senators grand standing over the stupid costly course taken by the U.S. government to retire AIGs swaps where the U.S. government allowed the swap counterparties to retain the $15 billion dollars of collateral on the swaps if they agreed to cancel the swaps even though the U.S. government bought the underlying securities for the swaps at face value (the government should have just traded equivalent Treasury bonds for the underlying securities and had a law passed just voiding the swaps as unnecessary). The U.S. government has engaged in a cluster foul-up with the Freddie and Fannie bail out, instead of just backing the Fannie and Freddie debt for a time like an abundance of experts called for which would have dramatically increased Fannie and Freddie profit margins, the government has gone on this buying spree of hundreds of billions of dollar of Fannie and Freddie debt which more likely than not will not save the U.S. government from having to come in and loan these GSEs tens of billions of dollars to remain solvent. Furthermore, the Senate Republicans have obviously with their behavior on this issue forgot to remember how terrible stewards they were with U.S. taxpayers money when they were in power in Congress during the first six years of the Bush Administration, they have no business making their pompous, arrogant and irresponsible grandstanding.
The Republican senators say the answer to the auto industry dilemma is to have a prepackaged bankruptcy, in and out of bankruptcy fast. Common sense would indicate unless they can get in and out of bankruptcy in a week, their reputation with consumers is going to be severely hurt. Moreover, and this is a galactically size moreover, there is no time to negotiate a prepackaged bankruptcy. GM is burning through cash they will run out by the end of this month and have to enter bankruptcy, by the end of this month one couldnt even acquire a list of all the requirements of all GMs creditors for them to agree to sacrifice their interests so GM could exit bankruptcy. This pre-packaged bankruptcy idea is a wolf in sheeps clothing idea its a plan to at best imprudently down size the U.S auto industry.
The U.S. automaker bailout has always been about jobs and saving an important manufacturing segment of the U.S. economy. If the U.S. automakers go into bankruptcy and if one U.S automaker goes into bankruptcy they all will, at best it will result in the downsizing of the industry where the US auto industry will long-term look like an industry that directly employs 150,000 people instead of the 300,000 plus people which is readily achievable if the U.S. government comes through with the $35 to 40 billion the industry is asking for as bridge loans. The Republican members of the U.S. Senate have failed to learn their lesson they have to start caring about the middle class and working people, it is not acceptable that they not learn this lesson. The American people will not forget the Republican senators crucial failure here.
bridge loan legislation, they again twisted their conservative ideals to seek political advantage on a matter of vital importance to America. The Democrats and the White Houses plan was a great plan which would have created enormous and almost certainly compelling pressure on the U.S. automakers to restructure and become long-term viable. The Republican senators insistence that the UAW immediately accept the same compensation terms as foreign automakers workers was unreasonable, unwarranted and arbitrary and so was the Republican senators insistence that U.S. automakers immediately reduce their debt by two-thirds. The Republican senators turned this whole matter into a competition and not a matter where the American peoples interest were being best served. The three to four dollar difference in U.S. automaker workers wages over foreign automakers wages was not sufficient enough to justify blocking this rescue plan for the U.S. automakers, with respect to health insurance the UAW absolutely needed to dramatically improve the co-pay terms of the plan and dramatically improve the percentage of the premiums they pay to make their insurance plan a mainstream type but a requirement to convert to foreign automaker workers high deductable insurance plan was totally uncalled for; these high deductable insurance plans are better than nothing for workers faced with the option of having no health insurance but these high deductable plans from a practicable standpoint result in people not seeing doctors when they should where serious health problems can be picked up - a plan to put the American people into high deductable health insurance coverage is a plan which fails the American people. A requirement the U.S. automakers immediately reduce their debt by two-thirds was wrong because it was unrealistic for the debt amounts at issue here are tens of billions of dollars the respective parties need to be given some months to work out a cut in the debt load in that general amount. The republican senators should have agreed to kick all these issues to the U.S. automaker czar, the legislation would have created, who could have handled all these matters in a reasonable and professional matter and satisfactorily protected the American peoples interests.
This whole matter involving Republican grand standing here smells. It sure seems that Republican senators have two standards one for their allies in the financial industries and another for ordinary working people where initiatives helping ordinary working people are held to a higher conservative principles standard. I havent seen Republican senators grand standing over the stupid costly course taken by the U.S. government to retire AIGs swaps where the U.S. government allowed the swap counterparties to retain the $15 billion dollars of collateral on the swaps if they agreed to cancel the swaps even though the U.S. government bought the underlying securities for the swaps at face value (the government should have just traded equivalent Treasury bonds for the underlying securities and had a law passed just voiding the swaps as unnecessary). The U.S. government has engaged in a cluster foul-up with the Freddie and Fannie bail out, instead of just backing the Fannie and Freddie debt for a time like an abundance of experts called for which would have dramatically increased Fannie and Freddie profit margins, the government has gone on this buying spree of hundreds of billions of dollar of Fannie and Freddie debt which more likely than not will not save the U.S. government from having to come in and loan these GSEs tens of billions of dollars to remain solvent. Furthermore, the Senate Republicans have obviously with their behavior on this issue forgot to remember how terrible stewards they were with U.S. taxpayers money when they were in power in Congress during the first six years of the Bush Administration, they have no business making their pompous, arrogant and irresponsible grandstanding.
The Republican senators say the answer to the auto industry dilemma is to have a prepackaged bankruptcy, in and out of bankruptcy fast. Common sense would indicate unless they can get in and out of bankruptcy in a week, their reputation with consumers is going to be severely hurt. Moreover, and this is a galactically size moreover, there is no time to negotiate a prepackaged bankruptcy. GM is burning through cash they will run out by the end of this month and have to enter bankruptcy, by the end of this month one couldnt even acquire a list of all the requirements of all GMs creditors for them to agree to sacrifice their interests so GM could exit bankruptcy. This pre-packaged bankruptcy idea is a wolf in sheeps clothing idea its a plan to at best imprudently down size the U.S auto industry.
The U.S. automaker bailout has always been about jobs and saving an important manufacturing segment of the U.S. economy. If the U.S. automakers go into bankruptcy and if one U.S automaker goes into bankruptcy they all will, at best it will result in the downsizing of the industry where the US auto industry will long-term look like an industry that directly employs 150,000 people instead of the 300,000 plus people which is readily achievable if the U.S. government comes through with the $35 to 40 billion the industry is asking for as bridge loans. The Republican members of the U.S. Senate have failed to learn their lesson they have to start caring about the middle class and working people, it is not acceptable that they not learn this lesson. The American people will not forget the Republican senators crucial failure here.
cause it sure as hell would be lower..
