Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg was no fan of the $58 billion federal rescue of General Motors Co., saying he worried taxpayer money would be wasted and the restructuring process would be vulnerable to “political pressure.” Now the lawmaker says it’s his “patriotic duty” to wade into GM’s affairs.
Federal support for companies such as GM, Chrysler Group LLC and Bank of America Corp. has come with baggage: Companies in hock to Washington now have the equivalent of 535 new board members — 100 U.S. senators and 435 House members.
Since the financial crisis broke, Congress has been acting like the board of USA Inc., invoking the infusion of taxpayer money to get banks to modify loans to constituents and to give more help to those in danger of foreclosure. Members have berated CEOs for their business practices and pushed for caps on executive pay. They have also pushed GM and Chrysler to reverse core decisions designed to cut costs, such as closing facilities and shuttering dealerships.
In addition to the dealership issue, lawmakers have jumped into a union fight that pits GM and Chrysler against two trucking companies that haul new cars around the country. The auto makers want to give some of the work to cheaper nonunion contractors. But that raised the ire of lawmakers who support the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
We are in the best of hands…
Well, if those companies don’t want the government involved all they have to do is pay back the money they borrowed and they can do as they please. Pretty simple to solve that problem.
I think that defines the difference between us. I know from 33 years of government service, that Uncle Sam has the Midas touch in reverse.
Which is why the government had no business getting in the car business to begin with.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we should have bailed out GM or even the banks. But now that we did I don’t have a problem with the government telling them that they can’t keep doing the same stupid things that got them into trouble with tax payer dollars. If Bank of America wants to give 25 million dollars to a CEO that ran the bank into the ground it should pay me back first.
Happy Halloween. Lauren and I are headed up to Clemson (I am covering the Tigers game) and staying up to enjoy the fall colors and to watch to watch the USC-Tennessee game.