Auto Bailout Good News/Bad News
Well, the bad news is that the ‘big three’ U.S. auto makers—Ford, General Motors (GM), and Chrysler—are being offered a $13.4 billion bailout by President George W. Bush (R). These loans would supposedly have to be paid back to the government, however I strongly suspect that will never happen since the companies liable to take this money (Chrysler and probably GM as well) are unlikely to survive until the due date of March 31. Congress never approved an auto bailout, so—in a real head-scratcher—Bush and his lackeys are taking this money out of the previously approved $700B financial bailout money. Apparently, once the Bush administration gets the money, they can do whatever they want with it regardless of what the bill approved by Congress actually said had to be done with it.
Using the $700B for what Congress approved it for would have been unconstitutional, but I’m not sure what Bush unilaterally deciding to use it for something else is. Do two unconstitutional acts make a constitutional one? Either way, I’m sure the founders are rolling in their graves over the last few months.
Regardless, there is a small silver lining. Congress already approved the waste of this money. The recipients might be new and unexpected, but there’s been no additional funds put toward socialist bailouts. In other words, we already knew this money was going to go to waste. I guess I don’t really care if it goes to waste on financial firms or auto firms, since they’re both equally undeserving. I’ve given up on trying to understand the constitutional basis for any of these bailouts, course changes, and outright lies perpetrated by Bush with the sign-off of a Democratic Congress. There isn’t any. They’re not even pretending to be bound by the Constitution’s limitations on government and separation of powers anymore.
I weep for the Republic.
