Me too! Me too!
As auto sales have plunged, the companies that make parts for makers have shown increasing signs of weakness. While most of the bailout attention has focused on the carmakers, most of the hundreds of thousands of jobs in the U.S. auto industry are created by suppliers.
“The failure of a few key suppliers could have brought the entire industry to its knees,” said Neil De Koker, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, where a third of the membership reported that it would face severe financial distress in the first quarter.
The $5 billion in federal assistance will come out of the $750 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, the financial rescue effort passed by Congress in October. The United States has extended $17.4 billion in loans from that program to General Motors and Chrysler, and those companies have asked for as much as $21.6 billion more.
Wall Street greeted the announcement of help for parts makers as a sign that the administration is likely to continue to aid the automakers. General Motors shares rose more than 8 percent yesterday, and Ford shares gained almost 2 percent.
But the Treasury’s move was criticized by some Republican senators, who said the assistance wrongly extends the scope of the rescue package.
“Regardless of the merits, Treasury’s decision to provide up to $5 billion to auto parts suppliers flies in the face of what they told us they would do in January — provide aid to GM and Chrysler and only for comprehensive restructuring,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee. “The administration needs to work with Congress instead of running the country by executive fiat without checks and balances on the use of taxpayer money.”
I am so FURIOUSLY ANGRY, PISSED OFF, RAGINGLY MAD. Congress has the constitutional responsibility to write bankruptcy laws, not bailouts. I vow never to do business (knowingly) with any entity that has received government bailout monies.
These entities need to fail, need to be put through bankruptcy courts. I do not consent to my tax money being used to bail out private industry. This is rule by fiat. Unless Congress listens to the American people on April 15th, we may well have one of the largest constitutional crises of legitimacy since the Civil War.
Let us hope that the taxpayer’s voice is heard.
Update: 3-24-9
Fun.
Numerous pro-bailout vitrolic comments pending for approval this morning. The Haters, directed by The Messiah, are responding with an army of 12 million strong to “reeducate” me, and the other pro-constitution Americans, on the virtues of the bailouts.
Well guess what, here is some more.
Take that brownshirts!!
You respond in force because you cannot claim the Constitution as your legal basis.