TodayCampaign harmony on auto firm loans
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Add This
Feeds
Editorial
Article RatingWith their frenetic presidential campaigns taking them from speech to rally and state to state at a nonstop pace, it’s easy to forget that John McCain and Barack Obama still have their day jobs.
But both senators occasionally take time out for their duties in Washington, and when that happens, it is a little nonplussing to see these two foes suddenly on the same side.
One of the few bills pegged to make it to President Bush’s desk before Congress goes into its official election break is a $25 billion loan package for the Big Three automakers. The money would allow GM, Ford and Chrysler to retool aging factories so they can begin producing the more environmentally friendly vehicles mandated by the energy bill Congress approved last year.
McCain and Obama are all for it, and we’d like to think it’s not just because of all those electoral votes in swing states like automotive-dependent Ohio and Michigan.
McCain, who opposed the bill in the beginning, now says the government should “assist Detroit and its suppliers in making it through this difficult time of transition.”
Obama, who as a Democrat would naturally seem more at home with the plan, sees it as part of the process for “breaking our oil addiction.”
Naturally, a range of opponents — from consumer groups to conservatives — decry the bill. To argue, as they do, that the automakers should not be rewarded for failing to producing fuel-efficient cars and trucks long ago is to ignore market realities, however.
The majority of American consumers helped put the automakers in the bind they now find themselves in, after all. Call them and us co-dependent. Until recently, the average American buyer wanted a pickup or an SUV, not a small high-mileage car or alternative-fuel vehicle. So the Big Three went where the profits were.
When fuel prices headed for the stratosphere and consumers suddenly saw the wisdom of “green” gas-sippers, the automakers found themselves in a bind.
Now we’re all stuck.
Meanwhile, it’s easy to forget that although the U.S. automakers seem to have put their glory days behind them, they are still a mainstay of the American economy. They employ thousands directly and many thousands more across the country in satellite industries. Locally, we should be more aware of that fact than some, considering what the former Masland/Lear workers are going through as part of the International Automotive Components Group — continuing layoffs and uncertainty.
We also overlook the fact that America’s heavy industries, including auto, steel and aircraft makers, still play a critical role in our national defense. Their ability to rapidly and fully convert to military production during World War II gave us an enormous advantage in that struggle, and the day we have to look overseas for our tanks, troop transports and jet fighters will be a sorry one, indeed.
Making the loans available — which the automakers will be expected to repay at government interest rates — also makes sense as the troubled financial markets make it tougher for anyone to get credit.
Whether you call it a bailout or an investment, this is one bill that looks to be a slam dunk in Congress this year. And once it’s passed, we’re sure the momentary harmony between the two senators will pass as well, and the campaigns will go back to normal. It will be interesting to see, at that point, which candidate will take the most credit for getting this job done.
