While the corporate media props up Republicans as better stewards of the economy, it is helpful to remeber that Republicans were quite willing to sit on the sidelines and let the U.S. auto industry disappear. Of course, President Obama's administration managed to save the U.S. auto industry, which includes millions of jobs, not just the hundreds of thousands who are directly employed by the Big Three car makers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/12/10/us-autos-bailout-idUSTRE4B50CL20081210
Hopes evaporated for quick action by the Senate where Republicans, some of whose votes would be necessary to ensure passage, threatened procedural moves to slow or even block the effort to authorize up to $14 billion in bridge loans.
"Unless Chrysler, Ford and General Motors become lean and innovative and competitive in the market place, this is only delaying their funeral," said Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican and bailout opponent.
* * *
Many in Congress are anxious to prevent the threatened collapse of one or more of the Detroit Three -- which directly employ 250,000 people and another 100,000 in related businesses. Industry says it accounts for 1-in-10 U.S. jobs.
* * *
Democrats are proposing direct bridge loans or lines of credit using funds previously appropriated for helping automakers retool factories and make more fuel efficient cars. In return, carmakers would give the government an equity stake equal to 20 percent of whatever is borrowed.
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