I’ve decided that I deserve a bailout. You see I am just too important to fail, I know this because my mom told me so and she has thus far never been wrong. The handouts are flying and I think its my turn. I’ve got bills and plenty of bad debt, and that’s the big ticket item right now for the US government so why not buy a piece? Im thinking a very arbitrary number, like $1.71 million. I could pay down the wife’s credit cards, maybe let her grab a few new coach purses and perhaps take a fancy vacation to the dentists office for a good old fashion grind & shine. I got this idea when I heard about the latest in multi-billion dollar give away, this time to the domestic big three auto manufactures. For decades they have lagged behind in innovation and performance. Their resale and depreciation numbers are astonishing next to the imports, and they bet everything they have on size versus efficiency, not ever taking into account that the middle east oil supply is about as stable as a drunken clown at birthday party. The first numbers thrown around were placed around twenty-five-large (that’s govt mobster slang for $25 billion), however it should be noted that as with any bailout, similar to the one that saved Chryslers aging ass 20 years prior come with some heavy handed regulations. The low interest deferrable loans are slated for retooling and technological upgrades to make the US auto industry more competitive in the new Gorinian fuel efficient era of pussy powered green machines. Why this wont work? Well where should we start…
The cost of developing and producing hybrids and other alternate fuel vehicles are no where close to lying in the realm of being economically pleasing or even feasible in the immediate market. At this point, if you purchase a hybrid vehicle it could take years to break even versus fuel prices, not to mention the cost of replacing batteries, which can run in the thousands. Ethanol or E-85, General Motor’s supposed eco-breadwinner is quickly turning out to be a global food killer, wasting an expected 3.2 B bushels in 2007/2008. Its expensive to produce, difficult to transport and corrodes seals and other components in most of our existing combustion engines.
Retooling also doesn’t address the issue of one of the primary causes of the collapse in the first place. The US auto industry, under the strangle hold of unions has failed to adapt to modern times, paying workers astronomical wages with unrealistic benefit and retirement packages. Foreign manufactures on the other hand, have kept their wages in check and made it clear that a high paying salary is useless if the profit margin of the company is in the gutter. They chose stability and sustainability over paying a line worker $70 an hour just because he has seniority and an army of union backing. Already the big three have hinted that in order to cut costs it will have to phase out its higher paid employees to make room for newer lower paid ones. The unions will not allow this, so it’s back to the drawing board Henry.
Another frightening aspect of the bailout is that the money could just end up over seas anyways. If the government mandates retooling, and the technology and resources for retooling lie in the hands of China, Japan and Korea, your tax dollars, meant to save millions of jobs here could just end up benefiting eastern machine and robotics companies. Do you really think Ford is going to pay a premium for US designed and built machinery when it could save a bundle by going to Korea for the same equipment? And say the retooling is a success and The Big Three buy themselves some time. Suppose by some improbable miracle of market realignment the US catch up and compete with foreign manufactures in the race for fuel efficiency, will that change the way they operate as a business?
A lot of people, the Japanese especially, knew for years the making realistic fuel-efficient cars, although not trendy or universally appealing, is the smart way to go in the long term. Honda released the Civic in 1972 and it is now sold in over 160 nations worldwide. For 36 years this car has succeeded and there are many similar success stories from Nissan and Toyota. Can you really tell me that for the past 36 years no one from the US auto industry took some notes on this? We were the first to put a man on the moon but refused to use our ingenuity and our industrial prowess into play. Truth be told, we could have built our own fleet of Civic competing automobiles but it just wasn’t what we wanted to do. Thirty years ago gas was dirt cheap and the open road was ours for the taking. Back then we could afford to take a simple auto-man and wage his way into a nice house, maybe a boat and plenty of vacation time. Times change, the markets change, Obama is change, but the US refused to pay attention and now its come back to bite them in the ass…again.
That brings us to present day. Unions wont budge, plants are being closed in droves, the Japs are making killer cars that hold their value and are actually affordable to own, and The Big Three want a check for it? Too big to fail? Are you kidding me? Why is mismanagement and inefficiency rewarded on such a grandiose scale in this country and hometown middle class success susceptible to punishment? Trust me, my heart goes out to these people, the vast majority of them had nothing to do with this cyclic devolution of industry and commerce, but is there really no middle ground between the complete collapse of our industrial giants and punishing the common tax payer? I think Rush said it best when he asked his listeners to name one thing the government has actually ever fixed. Poverty, education, welfare, social security and now housing, automotive, and banking; all areas where the government knew best right? Our economy and the principles behind capitalism can inherently work assuming they aren’t constantly being manipulated by a bunch of detached policy makers with little to no experience in the areas they are attempting to regulate. Rewrite history and allow failures to fail and the smart and studious succeed. Let an entire airline go under and watch the others take a lesson in the values of smart business. If these people know they are “too big to fail” what’s the incentive to actually do things the right way? If you know there are parachutes, safety nets and no risk of accountability, what’s the incentive in long-term stability? These bailouts reward risk, risk creates instability, instability ultimately defeats profit and growth, the resulting downfall will be paid for with our tax dollars.
That being said, I want my $1.71 million and I want you to pay for it. I need to cover operating expenses, re-establish my credit standing and bolster spousal confidence in my ability to be a good husband and buy her an expensive dog and buy myself an 09’ Porsche Cayenne Turbo-S which MSRP’s at $123,600 but has a top track speed of 174 mph and pumps out a steamy 550 hp at 6000 rpm. Ok so the last thing is a little excessive, but no more ridiculous than top executives for insurance dunce AIG running up a tab of $440,000 at the luxurious St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach California less than a week after the federal government offered them a $85 billion bailout. Porsche Cayenne doesn’t sound so crazy now does it…
***no nancy palosi’s were harmed in the making of this blog***

she aint no chevy tahoe, but itll do