It has been pointed out ad nauseum that without the $100 billion government CAFE mandate the automobile manufacturers would not be faced with a financial crisis... even with $25 billion approved for research and development of vehicles that can meet those mandates that the government is willing to provide. That still leaves the automobile manufacturers $75 billion in the hole. Then, even if they used the other $25 billion loan toward the mandates, that would leave them $50 billion in the hole... and not address the current need for operating cash because the financial markets are so screwed up.
So how about the government getting out of the mandate business? How about the government getting out of the automobile business? How about the government getting out of the energy business? How about the government minding its own business? No, that won't happen.
Instead the government is on the verge of telling the automobile manufacturers that if they want a $25 billion loan to get them through the larger financial credit mess
... a mess facilitated by the government and Wall Street, not created by the automobile manufacturers... the autombile manufacturers need to fire their top management and turn the planning over to the government.
This from a government trillions of dollars in debt... totally the fault of the politicians that run the government that wants to run the automobile companies. The inmates are running the asylum.
Create the problem; prevent a rational solution; demand control. Insane.
There is not one politician involved in this inquisition that could have done the job of Alan Mulally who has placed Ford in a position where it may not even need any of the government funds... unless the economy just goes to hell. Yet they sit in judgment.
The U.S. government takes pride in being an adversary of the U.S. automobile manufacturers... unlike other governments and their industries [there is an intro commercial before you see the linked article].
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