GOP Senators Oppose Big 3 Bailout; Engaged In Union Busting, Interstate Protectionism

The recent chain of events concerning the crash of housing values, the Wall Street crisis and now the failing domestic auto industry are all linked to an economy driven by a need for continuous growth and primarily based on extravagant and wasteful consumerism. The Federal Government’s $700 billion Wall Street bailout will probably be a precursor of things to come.
The bailout was proposed by the Treasury, backed by President Bush and grudgingly accepted by Congress. It was seen as a necessity to keep the economy afloat. Whether or not it will work is not yet known.
The auto bailout proposal now in the works is also seen by some as an absolute necessity to prevent the current recession from falling into a lengthy depression.
The House of Representatives passed a measure creating a $15 billion “bridge” loan to the Big Three but it did not pass by a veto proof vote in the Senate. All of the opposition was from the GOP.
Then the White House moved. Advised by Vice President Dick Cheney not to go down in history as another Herbert Hoover Bush sought support from the GOP senators for a White House plan to use some of the money already set aside for the TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program). It seemed as if a deal was struck but the GOP Senate opposition, led by Richard Shelby of Alabama and Tennessee’s Mitch McConnell and freshman Bob Corker, again blocked the bailout.
Their opposition centers on the supposed refusal of the UAW to make wage and contract concessions.
The three southern senators say the labor costs of the Big Three are much higher than of the foreign owned counterparts. Actually they are not that far apart. The southern plants have less medical coverage.
It is also worth noting the southern auto plants were given generous deals concerning tax breaks, grants and other goodies to entice them.
They say their conservative principals frown on governmental interference in the private sector of the economy.
It doesn’t hurt them to do a little union busting, protecting the car industry in your own state and possibly, as a bonus, putting your main competitors out of business.