Listening to the descriptions of the bailout for GM and Chrysler - at this time, just a notional agreement between Congressional Democrats and the White House, neither House nor Senate having voted on anything yet - it's sounding like pseudo-Chapter 11: limits on spending and dividends; obligations on labor to renegotiate; the "Car Czar"* as faux-bankruptcy judge; government as new, preferred equity. Not knowing any more about such things, it's begging the question to me: why is this being done via bespoke, ad hoc legislation, instead of in the well-established framework of Chapter 11? Could it be that the powers-that-be are just too proud to admit that Angus was right?
* Aside: Will Wilkinson had a nice bit on "czars" in the US government on NPR about a month ago.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Automaker bailout
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2 comments:
They're definitely too proud. I've been right about a lot of things, but never has anyone in the administration or legislature ever called to admit it. They'll get theirs...
The only idea worse that the proposed bailout bill was the Bob Corker alternative; talk about your bad faith proposals. "We'll help the automobile MAKERs, if all the people who MAKE automobiles agree to take huge pay cuts, har har har."
Its annoying because here the GOP had a chance to take the high ground with Mitch McConnel stating the obvious "We aren't voting for this stupid bill because it won't work" but then to throw in the Robbie Rotten poison pill ("I will help you as long as Sportacus has to leave town... FOREVER!") is just petty. This is why lame duck sessions of congress are a bad idea. There ought to be a law:
No problems are allowed from Nov 4 to January 20.
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