Bush pledges $17.4bn to prevent collapse of US car industry.

In the midst of the current financial crisis it is only the true partisans like Michelle Malkin and the Toyoto Republicans who can afford to hold on to their conservative principles, as they don't care how many people become unemployed as long as they can continue to insist that the market is always right.

Bush would, perhaps, love to agree with them, but his record is so appalling that he can hardly wish to add the destruction of America's manufacturing base to his already abysmal record in office, so he has capitulated and paid out $17.4bn of emergency funding to prevent the collapse of the big three car companies, although he has attached an insistence that workers wages must be lowered in line with Japanese companies wages by the end of next year, a blatant hat tip to the Toyota Republicans.

In a speech from the White House's Roosevelt room, Bush said: "In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the US auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action."

From an initial fund of $13.4bn, GM will get $9.4bn and Chrysler will receive $4bn. The treasury will make a further $4bn available to GM in February. Detroit's third major firm, Ford, told the administration that it could get by without a handout.

Bush said without the money, manufacturers faced the prospect of disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation. Experts believe the loss of one of Detroit's "big three" would cause more than a million job losses among suppliers and contractors.

"Such a collapse would deal an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans far beyond the auto industry," said Bush.

"It would worsen a weak job market and exacerbate the financial crisis. It could send our suffering economy into a deeper and longer recession."

The decision ends a month of bitter political wrangling in which motor industry bosses shuttled between Detroit and Washington to plead for aid.

Congress failed to agree on a legislative rescue plan a week ago, leaving an executive order from the White House as the last hope.

The decision regarding wage cuts will be reviewed once Barack Obama comes to office according to union officials, but Bush has at least taken steps to ensure that the Big Three remain operational.

However, Bush couldn't resist implying that he was bailing them out as a favour to the new Obama administration:

Bush: “I thought about what it would be like for me to become president during this period,” he said. “I believe that good policy is not to dump him a major catastrophe.”

That's too funny. He's leaving an economy in collapse and the nation entrenched in two unwinnable wars but he doesn't want to leave Obama a major catastrophe?

He blatantly leaves office as incurious as he entered it.

Click title for full article.

Tags: Bush, Big Three, auto industry, bailout