“I don’t want to run auto companies.” – President Barack Obama, April 29, 2009. “Obama Halves Chrysler’s Planned Marketing Budget” – Advertising Age, May 11, 2009. Congress should help President Obama stop running auto companies. We must repeal TARP now.
The reason cap-and-trade and carbon tax have been used interchangeably in the global warming debate is because they are essentially the same thing: a massive tax on energy. Although a more direct approach would be to tax carbon dioxide, it does not make it any more acceptable. But this tax is different because the revenue generated will be given back to the people, presumably. When has that happened? Can we honestly believe every dollar extracted from Americans from a cap-and-trade or a carbon tax will be given back in the …
The Obama Administration appears about to walk away from $7.5 billion in taxpayer money used to prop up Chrysler. This little information nugget was buried in Chrysler’s filing before the bankruptcy judge last week and confirmed by Administration sources. So much for responsible government and transparency! The Bush Administration pumped $4 billion into Chrysler to keep it alive long enough to go into bankruptcy well-prepared. Obama has waived the $4 billion and a $300 million fee. In exchange, taxpayers are receiving an 8 percent stake in a company likely worth …
Commenting on the White House’s Chicago-style negotiations with Chrysler’s creditors, The Atlantic‘s Megan McArdle writes: [W]hen did it become the government’s job to intervene in the bankruptcy process to move junior creditors who belong to favored political constituencies to the front of the line? … these people lent money under a given set of rules, and now the government wants to intervene in our extremely well-functioning (and generous) bankruptcy regime solely in order to save a favored Democratic interest group. Later live-blogging the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, McArdle reports: But …
President Obama was clearly miffed yesterday. His plan for restructuring Chrysler without a bankruptcy had been blocked by the refusal of some of the firm’s creditors to sign on to the restructuring deal hand-crafted by the White House. He decried their decision, calling them a “small group of speculators.” Later, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs elaborated, saying that the creditors should have given ground “for the greater good.” Just in case the message was missed, an unnamed Administration official added: “We know who some of them are.”
“I want to disabuse people of this notion that somehow we enjoy, you know, meddling in the private sector.” – President Barack Obama, April 29, 2009 “After consulting with my auto task force, industry experts, and financial advisors, I decided to give Chrysler and Fiat 30 days to reach an agreement. The standard I set was high: I challenged them to design a plan that would protect American jobs, American taxpayers, and the future of a great American car company.” – President Barack Obama, April 30, 2009 It is quite …
At the end of last night’s press conference President Barack Obama insisted: But I want to disabuse people of this notion that somehow we enjoy, you know, meddling in the private sector. … I’m always amused when I hear these, you know, criticisms of “Oh, you know, Obama wants to grow government.” No. I would love a nice, lean portfolio to deal with, but that’s not the hand that’s been dealt us. But if the Obama is so eager to get General Motors and Chrysler out of his portfolio, then …
From CNNMoney: “Chrysler LLC will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New York court Thursday senior Obama administration officials said, kicking off what the administration predicts will be a 30- to 60-day restructuring for the third-largest U.S. auto maker. The U.S. government will provide up to an additional $8 billion in aid, including up to $3.5 billion in so-called debtor-in-possession financing, to ensure Chrysler survives the historic reorganization process and finalizes a partnership with Italian auto maker Fiat SpA (FIATY).
Following up on EPA administrator Lisa Jackson’s statement that “what this country needs is a one single national road map that tells automakers who are trying to become solvent again what kind of car it is they need to be designing and building for the American people,” the Washington Post‘s Charles Lane reports on the practicality of one of the Obama administration’s preferred models, the electric car: Though Obama promised to have 1 million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015, the dream of a mass-market electric car remains implausible …
Previewing the Obama administration’s upcoming “sweeping” environmental regulatory agenda, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told NPR‘s Michelle Norris yesterday: “The President has said, and I couldn’t agree more, that what this country needs is a one single national road map that tells automakers who are trying to become solvent again what kind of car it is they need to be designing and building for the American people.” Norris then asked: “Is that the role of Government though? That doesn’t sound like free enterprise.” Jackson responded: “Well it is free enterprise in …
