Regardless of who wins Tuesday’s election, the next great argument in Washington is whether there will be a second ‘stimulus bill’ (ie, bailout). Constituencies are already lining up. House leaders have heard from mayors, governors and state transportation officials, looking to Washington to save them from the balanced budget requirements imposed on them. Environmentalists are hoping to add billions to fight global warming, and other interest groups are expected to jump into the fray after election day. Where will the money come from? Charlie Rangel is clear: it will be tacked on to the federal deficit. There will also be tremendous political pressure applied to bail out the U.S. automakers. It will come from Michigan’s Senators and Congressmen, as well as Governor Stabenow. But the most powerful constituency for a bail our of the automakers will be the unions. That’s because — as Steven Pearlstein points out — they would be the prime beneficiary:
Do the American taxpayers want to see billions more of their hard-earned tax dollars spent propping up companies and unions that have spent years using Washington to protect themselves from the realities of the market?
