The federal government, particularly the United States Senate, has turned its back on hard-working Americans who depend on their jobs in the automotive industry. Make no mistake about it: This is a politically-motivated decision on the part of senators who thumbed their nose at the proposed loan to assist struggling car manufacturers General Motors and Chrysler. Daniel Howes, a columnist for the Detroit News, wrote an intriguing column about what may be the motives of some of the U.S. Senators who said “no” to assisting the auto industry in this - the most trying of times economically. The senate said “no” to working families. How many times have politicians bailed out failing white-collar-type businesses only to spit in the face of blue-collar-type industries? Apparently, so-called bailouts are OK for banks, but not OK for the auto industry.
Here is an excerpt from Howes’ column:
“Now a federal bailout for Detroit’s automakers appears close to dead, delivering a crushing blow to a Michigan economy reeling from high unemployment, skyrocketing home foreclosures and sagging tax revenue. The obstructionists: southern Republicans determined to use a financial crisis to rework corporate balance sheets and rewrite collective bargaining agreements on their terms and timetables.”
“Obstructionists” is a great word to use. What is the motive of the individuals (mostly Republicans, but also some Democrats)? Is this a union-busting thing? Is it a way of getting revenge on the union and trying to (if not break) severely weaken the union? What is the agenda of these obstructionists who are playing politics with the jobs of hard-working people who make a fraction of what these politicians in their fancy suits, living in their fancy houses make? What these obstructionists are doing is foolish, and it will impact more than just auto workers.
“I don’t think the southern senators understand this isn’t a Japanese and Big Three thing,” says Gregory Raymond, a member of UAW Local 372 who works at Chrysler’s Trenton Engine plant, to Howes in a column. “It’s an American thing. All auto companies use the same suppliers and they’re all going to suffer if the supply base goes down.”
Too bad short-sighted politicians, probably looking to get a little kickback for themselves or further some other sort of hidden agenda, don’t seem to care.
Detroit News:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081212/OPINION03/812120397
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