You know, those who say, hey, go bankrupt so you can cut back on what the unions have won — the unions have already made some concessions. But, you know, we've had enough anti-union activity, and enough increase in income inequality in this country. I don't want to set a precedent that bankruptcy now is a way in which you undo what gains unions have been able to hold on to.So in Frank's view, the right thing to do is to tax nonunion auto workers making Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, BMW, Mercedes, or Hyundais so that UAW workers can continue to cost their employers 50% more to employ.
When would this largesse end? Well, never, unless some genius can figure out a way to overcome the inherent competitive disadvantage of spending $1.50 on labor for every $1 your competition spends. Of course, once you find that means, your competition will imitate it, and you're back at your disadvantage. So the federal money must continue indefinitely as the means of offsetting the expense.
Of course, Frank has more. Uncle Sugar will supply "health care" [sic, read "health insurance"]:
Health care, by the way, is also on the agenda. Health care is a real problem, and we have burdened all American industry with a bad health care system that's tied to your employment. One of the things I very much look forward to is working with the new president so we change the health care system. And going forward, if they have to stay with health care the way it is now, yeah, that's bleak. But what I am hoping is that we will get a change in the health care system that will reduce the burden that we put not just on the American auto industry, where it's more expensive to build a car in America than in Canada because of health care.
Um, Congressman Frank, we're talking about a competitive disadvantage with other plants in the United States, where the workers get employer-provided health insurance. So if you get your nationalized health insurance, the Big Three's costs go down, but so do all the other manufacturers', and they're still at a disadvantage. N.B. that everyone's taxes go up too, but we'll count that as a wash as well.
We also call attention to Frank's insistence that an auto bailout be conditioned on Detroit retooling to make green cars. Never mind that there's no market evidence that Americans want to buy green cars. Having companies that sell cars is clearly not the agenda.
So what Frank envisions is automobile manufacturers receiving perpetual subsidies from taxpayers to employ unionized workers at above-market costs to make environmentally acceptable cars that may never be bought by anyone. We rest our case.
Chapter 11, anyone?
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