Just a short follow-up post on the whole Chrysler-Eastwood-Obama-America-football-everything-else controversy. With all the electrons that have been killed (since we don't cut down trees anymore, right?) the one thing that's lacking from a lot of the blather is anything resembling facts. Here are a couple. For one thing, the first $4 billion that the U.S. government sent to Chrysler (which apparently includes the $1.3 billion that isn't getting paid back) went out on Jan. 2, 2009. The president on that date was George W. Bush. You can look it up.
But here's the more important fact:
In all, the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor, Mich., reckons the government’s bailouts of the U.S. auto industry spared more than 1.14 million jobs in 2009, and prevented ‘additional personal income losses’ of nearly $97 billion in 2009 and 2010. Another 314,400 jobs were saved in 2010. The research organization based its conclusions on the potential impact of auto-industry collapse for jobs at U.S. automakers and suppliers, and ripple effects on the economy at large.
I'm no math whiz, but I'm pretty sure that the upshot is the government spent $1.3 billion to save 1.44 million jobs (the loss of whcih would have turned the Great Recession into Great Depression II). That's less than $1,000 per saved job. If you've ever heard of a government program more efficient than that, I'd like to know about it.
Bush spent 17 billion on the auto bailout. He even consulted with Obama days after Obama was elected in 2008 to discuss his spending this amount on the failing industry. Obama took it up a notch after he gained power and spent an additional 50 billion on these unionized special interest companies. Thus the birth of the Tea Party.— RufusG- So are you saying that if Chrysler had re-organized through bankruptcy, that the demand for cars would have disappeared? Would the volume of cars sold have changed? Would the factories have disappeared, replaced by casinos and heroin bazaars?
When the Inqi and DN went through bankruptcy, did everyone stop buying the papers? Did they stop printing them? Did you stop having a job?
Or are you citing statistics that are incomplete or misleading, and proferring them as unequivocal facts? Are you at all curious about business or economics?
Okay, great thanks, I thought so.— Mr. Smith - I give Bush and Obama credit for saving GM. It wasn't just union jobs that were saved. GM finally got around to making quality cars and it would have been a shame to see them go belly up. Can't say I feel the same way about Chrysler. other than the Jeep line, their cars are junk!— chasing history
- "Thus the birth of the Tea Party".
Not quite. The reason that the Tea Party was created was because the Republican brand had proven incompetent. Bush had 4 years of a GOP-controlled Senate and 6 years of a GOP-controlled House. They put 2 wars on the national credit card and turned a Clinton surplus into a record defecit. America stood on the brink of economic collapse. Obama wins the '08 election handily. Even republicans knew that they needed to remake their image. Hence Fox News starts covering something dubbed the "Tea Party" - financed by wealthy businessmen like the Koch brothers.— wokmaster - Will, you must wonder why your loyal readers have a spoonful of skepticism every time they read a news article or a blog post. One could pare down a post like yours and realize that whatever you were trying to say could be interpreted many ways.
I still think that you took advantage of that 'cash for clunkers' deal. A government program that failed miserably. Especially for those of us driving old fuel efficient autos.— RufusG - @workman .....be it Repubs or Democrats the Tea Party saw outrages spending by the government and wanted to put a stop to the insanity. Granted Bush was in way over his head but so is Obama.......— RufusG
- The reason the "Occupee" movement was created was because the Libs wanted a "Tea Party". Obama had 2 years of a Democrat controlled CONGRESS, House and Senate. They doubled the credit card debit to the highest level ever in the shortest amount of time EVER!!! After the Gingrich lead surplus of the 90s we got attacked and our President brought us through the worst attack in history with a good economy until the Demos took Congress back! The media was able to convince the uneducated and youngsters who rarely vote that Obama had the answer..their GOD who would save the world. He made many promises and kept very few. Demos are now trying to remake his image with false reports about job growth and how they created it and Auto bailouts, green energy... all false. Hence MSNBS starts covering and bashing the Republicans while ignoring Solendra, ENER1, $1.3 billion owed by Chrysler, Obama keeping GITMO open along with Rendition and wire tapping as well as the the financing that comes from Goldman Sachs, Soros, and the rest of the Libby brothers!!! LOL!!! Libs are so much fun!!!— sarah89
- Tea Party. Funny. The dopes with math skills that would make Corky blush. Hey, next time? Try to get a candidate that can add.— enabler1
- I hear alot about the Koch brothers but no one on the left ever seems to mention Soros, Media Matters, MoveOn.org and on and on. You would think the right had the market cornered on big money backers.— Wiseman6
- I hear alot about the Koch brothers but no one on the left ever seems to mention Soros, Media Matters, MoveOn.org and on and on. You would think the right had the market cornered on big money backers.— Wiseman6
- @enabler1- Next time get a president that knows there are only 50 states...— Wiseman6
Comment removed.- Not one assertion in that CAR report can be proven as fact. Exactly how did they figure out "additional personal income losses"? Ironically, the only thing that is factual is that the taxpayer was screwed out of 1.3 billion dollars, yet that doesn't seem to matter.— jmc
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
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