It looks like Republicans may be able to foil the narrow Democrat majority in its quest to dole out money to the first in a list of private companies making bad business decisions that should be rewarded with your tax money:
The finer print reveals several less-encouraging quotes from Republicans, who sound far too willing to approve a bailout if the money has certain strings attached:
Chuck Grassley has asked top auto executives to cut their own pay until the crisis is averted, and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) has suggested any bailout money be tied to automakers’ ability to renegotiate labor contracts. Complicating the Dems’ problems: Obama resigns his Senate seat on Nov. 16, decreasing their majority, and the bill would likely need enough support to withstand a presidential veto. If Republicans can stand up to the Washington pressure to do this, they’re likely to come out on the right side of this issue, according to numbers from Rasmussen:
A whopping 73 percent are worried the government will run out of money if it keeps bailing companies out, recognizing that there’s likely no end in sight once GM gets the goods. If Republicans need more incentive to oppose this, there’s the fact that women are more worried than men, and younger Americans more than older Americans. Good government is the most attractive part of the Republican message right now, and it’s an inroad to groups Republicans lost this time around. Dan Mitchell of Cato disputes the notion Democrats are selling that this is the requisite bailout of Main Street required after the bailout of Wall St.:
Bankruptcy may be the quickest path to profitability, painful though it is. A court-supervised opportunity to streamline production and costs would undoubtedly make union bosses and executives uncomfortable, but it’s what they need to do to become viable in the long term. BMW, Nissan, and Toyota all make money making cars in the United States. Most of them do it in South Carolina and Alabama, where workers have been glad to trade insurance-covered massage therapy for steady jobs working for companies that aren’t constantly on the verge of collapsing.
