financial crisis
White House Throws GMAC $6 Billion Rescue Line
Remember when the Bush administration was opposed to tapping the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to help Detroit’s Big Three?
Fugetaboutit.
The Treasury Dept. announced last night that it will spend $6 billion from that fund to bail out GMAC, the flailing auto finance company whose reluctance to lend to riskier loan applicants has contributed significantly to [...]
Paulson as ‘Car Czar’
When Senate Republicans last week blocked Democrats’ efforts to bail out General Motors and Chrysler, which say they’re near bankruptcy, the White House was quick to swoop in to announce that it would lend the help that Congress didn’t.
Aside from the comedy surrounding that development (the Bush administration’s original refusal to help the automakers was [...]
Automakers Suffering, Regardless of Their Business Model
In a move that spells nothing but bad news for Detroit’s struggling automakers, Toyota announced yesterday that it’s suspended plans to produce its Prius hybrid in the United States.
Why is that bad news for the Big Three? Because there’s been this line of argument that Ford, General Motors and Chrysler would be performing splendidly right [...]
Obama Urges Administration and Congress to Keep Working on Auto Deal
President-elect Barack Obama released the following statement this morning on Congress’ failure to reach an agreement on a federal bailout for the “Big Three” auto manufacturers:
State Woes Worsen
No one’s been following the budget crunch facing states more closely than the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and today they’ve released more bad news: In the middle of the economic downturn, 43 states are facing funding shortfalls in 2009 and/or 2010.
Because most states are legally required to balance their budgets each year (ie, [...]
Grassley Wonders When the Socialism Will End
Tailpipe emissions are hardly the only concerns to pop up amid Washington’s debate over an automaker bailout. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) wondered yesterday why taxpayers should pump billions of dollars into Chrysler if its private owner, Cerberus, isn’t willing to do so. From Grassley’s Dec. 9 to Democratic leaders:
Unemployment As Jobs Creation Program
Here’s a headline that’s a sign of the times: “More Workers Needed for NJ Unemployment Claims.”
The Associated Press story, which ran yesterday, goes on to reveal that the state is hiring 130 additional workers to tackle the baglog of claims created by the economic downturn. (New Jersey’s unemployment rate has jumped from 4.2 percent to [...]
A $1 Trillion Stimulus?
Remember the good-old-days (like a month ago) when leading economists were pushing the federal government to boost the economy with $200 - $300 billion in new stimulus spending? Well, they’re gone.
As unemployment continues to skyrocket, the housing market continues to fall and consumers remain reluctant to open their pocketbooks, economists are now urging a package [...]
TCS Leaks Draft of Auto Bailout Plan
Taxpayers for Common Sense, a policy watchdog group, has gotten its hands on an early draft of the Democrats’ plans to bailout Detroit’s automakers, and they’ve shared it with the world. From their summary of the proposal:
Detroit CEOs to Get $1 Per Year? Not Quite
The heads of the Detroit’s automakers might be willing to accept $1 salaries as a condition of a federal bailout, but they won’t commit to capping their total compensation, even at $1 million.
So says Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a liberal member of the House Financial Services Committee, which hosted the three auto execs this morning [...]
