I salute him in not wanting to use TARP and Section 136 funds for the automakers and I salute him in wanting what is in the best interests fo the taxpayers. And I get the impression that he is thinking of all taxpayers, not just those in Florida and/or Michigan. I cannot see how the huge 3 can pull themselves out of the hole that they have dug for themselves with 15 billion of our hard earned dollars without restructuring both manufacture and current wage/benefit programs. That money would not last a single quarter and it is going to take a lot more than one quarter for the changes needed to show effect. I find it fascinating and sad that, to date, the auto industry has not utilized any of the money set aside to help retool.

There’s a new Civil War going on when it comes to automaking in America. Japanese, Korean, and German automakers are now building 18 auto assembly plants in the United States, none of which is unionized. Kentucky (Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell) already has Toyota’s largest auto assembly plant outside Japan. Tennessee (Senate Rep. Bob Corker, who came up with the "chapter 11" bailout amendment) houses Nissan’s North American headquarters. Alabama (Senate Rep. Richard Shelby) hosts Mercedez Benz and several other foreign automakers.

So there’s no reason to suppose the excellent citizens of Kentucky, Tennessee, or Alabama are particularly excited at the prospect of handing over their taxpayer money to competing firms and their workforces.

Besides, southern Republican are not particularly enamoured with the UAW, which has steadfastly bankrolled Democrats who have taken on Republicans. (The new Congress will have at least six new Democrats from formerly Republican districts, all of whom received at least $40K from the UAW.)

Corker’s compromise — which would force the UAW to match the wages of foreign, mostly non-unionized autoworkers in the South — would essentially make the UAW irrelevant. Why have a union if you can get the same deal without one?

But Republicans also know that the Huge Three and their suppliers are spread out over the battle-ground states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Minnesota. Republicans don’t dare give up these states or alienate their citizens.

So here’s where compromise comes in.

The dirty small secret is that, bailout or no bailout, the Huge Three will have to lay off thousands of workers over the next few years, as the foreign non-union automakers take market share away from them

Excellent ole Mel is mighty close to these states and I’m sure he’s getting some "feedback" from his fellow Southerners. The TARP funds were for banks….to make loans…..they should loan the money to the automakers. Alas, foreign competition in our capitalist market is ever stronger and showing no signs of weakening.

you can’t trust them letters, there generic and fake, what they say is not what they want to say

It appears that the auto makers do not want a loan, they want a bailout. Let’s face it if they can get our grandkids to pay they are better off.

This is fascinating. Thanks for sharing!

I’ll bring it along to read when I’m on vacation for a few weeks.