After nearly eight years of getting little or no attention from the White House, it seems as though Detroit's automakers will be a major focus the 2008 Election. With the economy looking worse by the day, lawmakers in Washington have been kicking around the idea of a second economic stimulus package to get people shopping again, and Mowtown's lawmakers want in on the money. Michigan's two Democratic senators are attempting to use the prospect of such a bill to include federally-backed loans to help automakers and suppliers build new factories and engineer new models. The $4B would be used to offset the costs associated with the Treasury Department giving automakers $25B in loans at a discounted rate. Automakers have been against such a loan in the past, but with worsening conditions and tighter lending practices the idea is likely to sound much more exciting this time around.
Presumed Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama told the UAW in a letter that he supports the $4B in federal aid, stating that he would "provide real solutions necessary to help this industry compete and win in the global economy." Obama also promised tax breaks for consumers that purchase ultra fuel efficient vehicles and tax credits for automakers as well. Presumed Republican nominee John McCain opposes the idea of federally backed loans, but he does support tax breaks to those that purchase fuel efficient vehicles and a $300M in prize money for electric battery powered vehicles
[Source: Detroit Free Press, Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 10)
Frank @ Jul 23rd 2008 7:12AM
is he still talking?
Vintage @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:24AM
Crap. Well, I was going to vote for Obama. Not anymore. I don't vote for socialists.
Eddy Alvarez @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:58AM
amen to that...
man, this guy is trying to "change" America into communism. and whats funny is that it sounds like so much fun to so many people but in 10 years when competition is eliminated by universal healthcare and big fat massive government, then America will be realizing, "OOOHHH! THATS RIGHT! thats why communism/socialism is bad."
..and besides that, what border will Canadians cross when they dont want to wait 2 months for an xray?
psarhjinian @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:14AM
Rich Canadians cross the border for non-life-threatening procedures that can't be performed in a timely fashion. Life-threatening ones requiring transfer to the US are paid for the by the government. I know this because I've been through it.
Poor and/or middle class Americans just get sick and die, or get help and declare bankruptcy.
Look, crow all you want, but the US spends more per capita on health care (not aggregate, per capita--and this is just Medicare/Medicaid; it doesn't include the billions that go to private medical insurers or direct to providers) than Canada, the UK, Germany, Sweden, France and so forth) but has--by a large margin--the highest infant mortality, lowest life expectancy and lowest net health of any developed nation. There are third-world countries with better QoL scores than the US.
Look, dittohead phrases like "socialism suxs" all you like, but the numbers prove it. A few border-hopping rich Canadians does not disprove the American system's failure.
azzo45 @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:42AM
Y'all vote for McSame & a 3rd Bush term them... I'm sure the USA will really rock n' roll with John in charge
At least Obama grasps real world, big business R&D budgets... McCain's 300 million "prize" for battery tech? Its like putting gum on a leaking dam.
psarhjinian @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:43AM
Ok, here's a pair of questions for all of you yammering about "socialism" and such:
* What do you think about defense spending? Because that's essentially propping up Boeing or Lockheed, never mind the likes of all the war profiteers.
* Can you eat an ideology? Because that's what you'll have to do if the number one employer (in aggregate terms) collapses. There are a lot of interdependencies, and if any of the Big 3 collapse, the net economic impact will probably push the country into a recession.
Me, I'm a pragmatist, and as such, saying that any form of governmental interference is unacceptable seems, to me, to be just as inflexible and impractical an ideology as the Marxists: it willfully ignores the complexity that is "the real world".
And besides, the kind of people who whinge about socialism and handouts are, if you scratch them, opposed to handouts only when it's someone they don't like.
Dausman @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:45AM
A second AMEN...this one or Hillary will only lead this nation on the road to a state of socialism and the demise of the way of life we experience now....want what I have?? ....then go to work for a living instead of sucking off the teats of all tax paying, hard working AMERICANS..... this redistrubution of wealth is nothing but SOCILAISM. You want a f*&king revolution?......build a state of socialism and it will come.
PiCASSO @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:06AM
Eddy Alvarez: "..and besides that, what border will Canadians cross when they dont want to wait 2 months for an xray?"
Your an idiot. Lived in Canada 20-years, and never have I waited more than 30-minutes to get my X-rays the same day after getting my prescription/referral from my doctor. Perhaps something like an MRI, yes, you'll have to wait a little bit if it is not life threatening, just like you do here in United States (I'm living now in Chicago).
So, please, refrain from your ignorant comments.
Colin Smith @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:30PM
Was Roosevelt a communist then?
Colin Smith @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:19PM
Was Roosevelt a communist then?
Vintage @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:23PM
psarhjinian : We're already in a recession. Duh.
oki @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:49PM
@Vintage
Actually we arent in recession, definition wise we arent just as yet... i thought we were until i took my economics class this semester
FillerUp @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:07PM
No matter how many fingers we point from how ever many different directions they all lead to the same place, that corruption is inherently routed in all forms of government and that it is the job of the people to keep a firm and vigilant eye on such corruption, ready to keep it from overflowing to unmanageable levels.
Maybe instead of screaming about socialism, communism, healthcare, and mortality rates from here and there we should take a moment to think about how we got in this mess. How not long ago voter participation in government elections was dwarfed by reality TV shows and why the latest celebrity screw up or drug addiction continues to catch more media attention than any one of the great problems we face in our society on a daily basis. Why we focus on how female or how white or black or old our candidates are and what his or her significant other did or does or looks like more than their positions on issues and where those positions may lead us in the future. Why for so long we have tolerated a 2 party system, why we allow our leaders to tell us that the glorious technology protecting their money every moment of every day just can't seem to protect our vote in a national election. The list can go on forever.
But if you're looking for somebody to blame, blame yourself.
For too long we have all chosen to take a minimal role in our government and now we're stuck with two candidates we neither identify with nor agree with because we were too busy asking the wrong questions and focusing on all the wrong things. Too busy with our lives to take a stand and cause true "Change" and useful "Revolution". So stop bickering and do something of use.. We need this kind of passion in the public forum, not on Autoblog.
AMGoff @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:51PM
@ Vintage, Eddie Alvarez, and Dausman...
I'm trying to discern whether your clear bias is shrouded in ignorance, illiteracy, or perhaps a combination of the two. You've certainly shown a flair for sensationalism by throwing around words like "socialism" and even "communism," however - I question your motives for such exaggerated assertions...
Is it that you're anti-Obama or anti-Detroit?
Could you please explain how money in the form of federally-backed loans equates to a socialistic redistribution of wealth? Because your purposeful use of such inflammatory terms show several different things, none of which I'm afraid are a clear understanding of the situation at hand, nor a real desire to do so.
If you honestly think that this is somehow an indicator of an irrevocable change in things to come, then you really should get your "McCarthy" glasses checked out because there are numerous programs, laws, and actions carried out over the years by the federal and state governments (including the current administration) that are far more rank of socialism than these proposed loans to Detroit's automakers.
Did you receive a stimulus check... did you cash it? Do you have any children... do you claim them on your taxes to receive extra credits? Have you or anyone in your family ever collected Unemployment Benefits... or Disability... or heck - even Medicare? Do you have money in a private bank... the government guarantees that your money is protected. Does your local school district receive money from the US Department of Education? Did you and/or your children go to college... If so, did you receive any grants or federally subsidized loans?
The list goes on and on.. Have you read the news lately? Have you heard anything about two little companies called Fannie May and Freddie Mac?
So please... if your worries stem from somewhere other than sheer, unadulterated bias... Would you, or more appropriately - Could you please explain them?
Otherwise - leave the dramatics to the actors and politicians.
Topher Skunk @ Jul 23rd 2008 7:18AM
Do the Big 3 CEOs get a raise when the loans kick in?
Matt @ Jul 26th 2008 6:07PM
Are you completely blind?
If you hadn't noticed, Mullaly is doing more for Ford now than has been done in... forever with them. Wagoner is doing similar things for GM, albeit on smaller scale.
But it takes TIME to form a TURN-AROUND. It can't and won't happen over-night. Not now, and not later.
Heck, the only company that still seems somewhat "lost" on the idea of a turn-around is Chrysler, and that's only because that company a) is privately owned, and therefore doesn't seem as accountable for their mistakes and b) the steps they have chosen to TRY and improve things have mainly focused on trying to sell the crappy vehicles they already have, not make BETTER vehicles.
Step on the lot of a new Ford or GM dealer - almost all their stuff is new these days, especially Ford (granted they have a smaller network with fewer brands to work with, which helps). Most of is I would consider fairly decent/competative. And if you're going to spew your biased, Anti-Domestic rhetoric, take it elsewhere.
stealth @ Jul 23rd 2008 7:25AM
no
no no
what are we communists?
azzo45 @ Jul 23rd 2008 7:42AM
No Americans are capitalists... & capalists do what they do to COMPETE with their competition. Japan, Korea & Germany assist their automotive companies.
Many countries support their airline industry... the USA pays farmers for their crops (to grow & not to grow) to control economic conditions... is that a Communist pratice in our American government???
stealth @ Jul 23rd 2008 7:53AM
so
what are we socialist?
azzo45 @ Jul 23rd 2008 7:58AM
I don't label everything in my life. America incorporates more than different peoples.... What ever philosophy gets the job done works for me!