Who's really to blame for the wasted auto $ billions?

[tigerbob]

I'm sure this won't get a lot of coverage in the media, but I found it interesting...

Obama turned down Bush proposal on autos
Detroit Free Press, June 8, 2009

President Barack Obama's transition team turned down a pitch last November from Bush administration officials to join forces in setting conditions on GM and Chrysler in return for money to survive.

The disclosure Sunday by a former top economic aide to President Bush came after repeated criticism from the Obama team that the Bush White House had simply dumped billions of dollars into GM and Chrysler that would have to be written off as a loss because of a lack of oversight.

“We are only in this situation because somebody else kicked the can down the road, and that’s really an understatement,” said Austan Goolsbee, a member of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, on “Fox News Sunday.”

“When George Bush put money into General Motors, almost explicitly with the purpose, how many dollars do they need to stay alive until January 20th, 2009? There was no commitment to restructuring, to making these viable enterprises of any kind.”

Other administration officials have made comments similar to Goolsbee’s, citing the lack of demands for the $19.4 billion lent to GM and the $4 billion provided to Chrysler as the reason why those loans had to be swapped for equity and likely never paid back.

Keith Hennessey, Bush’s chief economic adviser, said Goolsbee’s comments were “inflammatory and incorrect,” and that Obama’s team had followed the blueprint laid out by the Bush administration calling for steep concessions from autoworkers, retirees and investors.

Hennessey said the Bush administration had met with Obama’s advisers, including chief economic adviser Larry Summers, on Nov. 30 to propose working together on a rescue plan for GM and Chrysler. The key to the plan was linking the two administrations in a hard line with the automakers.

“The auto company’s stakeholders would know that they had no wiggle room, and that they had no chance of getting additional funding from the next Administration,” said Hennessey in a blog post.

Obama turned down Bush proposal on autos | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

As to what the truth is, I'm sure we'll never know.

 

[sealybobo]

I'm sure this won't get a lot of coverage in the media, but I found it interesting...

Obama turned down Bush proposal on autos
Detroit Free Press, June 8, 2009

President Barack Obama's transition team turned down a pitch last November from Bush administration officials to join forces in setting conditions on GM and Chrysler in return for money to survive.

The disclosure Sunday by a former top economic aide to President Bush came after repeated criticism from the Obama team that the Bush White House had simply dumped billions of dollars into GM and Chrysler that would have to be written off as a loss because of a lack of oversight.

“We are only in this situation because somebody else kicked the can down the road, and that’s really an understatement,” said Austan Goolsbee, a member of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, on “Fox News Sunday.”

“When George Bush put money into General Motors, almost explicitly with the purpose, how many dollars do they need to stay alive until January 20th, 2009? There was no commitment to restructuring, to making these viable enterprises of any kind.”

Other administration officials have made comments similar to Goolsbee’s, citing the lack of demands for the $19.4 billion lent to GM and the $4 billion provided to Chrysler as the reason why those loans had to be swapped for equity and likely never paid back.

Keith Hennessey, Bush’s chief economic adviser, said Goolsbee’s comments were “inflammatory and incorrect,” and that Obama’s team had followed the blueprint laid out by the Bush administration calling for steep concessions from autoworkers, retirees and investors.

Hennessey said the Bush administration had met with Obama’s advisers, including chief economic adviser Larry Summers, on Nov. 30 to propose working together on a rescue plan for GM and Chrysler. The key to the plan was linking the two administrations in a hard line with the automakers.

“The auto company’s stakeholders would know that they had no wiggle room, and that they had no chance of getting additional funding from the next Administration,” said Hennessey in a blog post.

Obama turned down Bush proposal on autos | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

As to what the truth is, I'm sure we'll never know.

I think like the bankers, GW didn't have any problem giving the auto companies bailout money. They are big business' that can donate millions to their party.

But first the unions must make huge concessions. And part of the plan is to send more jobs overseas. We are subsodizing the outsourcing of our auto companies. Mission accomplished.

And, make it look like it was the dems fault.

Privatize the profits and socialize the losses. And use the disaster to break the unions and renig on pensions.

But don't take healthcare off the corporations plate to make them more competitive. Just keep taking from American workers. Because the healthcare providers are important. And they're doing a good job.