Well, someone got their deal...

And the least fiscally conservative Republican president... ever... had to be the one to pull the trigger. The only question is who really got what in the quid-pro-quo at the intersection of Washington politics, Union politics, and big corporate politics.

"Government has a responsibility to safeguard the broader health and stability of our economy," Bush said. "If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers."

"In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action," he added.

As reported in Money Magazine online US automakers GM and Chrysler will get the last $13.4 billion of the available financial bailout set aside. They can also ask for more when the 2nd $350 billion is released by a far more liberal congress and Whitehouse next month. The first half of the $700 billion allocated by Congress at the start of this fiasco is gone. That's a $1,500 donation from each adult in the US to bailout financial services corporations; companies that make money by trading money and produce nothing but more debt for us.

Dr. Mark Perry's blog post from July of 2007 references Forbes numbers to highlight why the US automakers need a bailout.

The average UAW worker with a high school degree earns 57.6% more compensation than the average university professor with a Ph.D. (see graph above, click to enlarge), and 52.6% more than the average worker at Toyota, Honda or Nissan.

American's Net Worth Drops Like Never Before

Consumers watched their net worth fall for the fourth quarter in a row as it dropped by $2.8 trillion, or 4.7%, to $56.5 trillion, dragged down by huge drops in home values and in the stock market. It was the largest decline in the 57-year history of the report.

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Big 3 Bailout passes house

Senate Republicans, however, aren't very interested in the measure.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, said he opposes the bill. "We reviewed it closely to see if it meets the criteria that I've laid out repeatedly for taxpayer protections and an effective strategy for securing the long-term viability of these companies. In the end, I concluded that it does not," McConnell said in a floor speech.

Good for them! That's $14 Billion we all need to keep in our pockets right now.

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PS. If it ends up passing because enough people get their pork projects written into the bill making it even more expensive.... AGAIN.... then I'll say I told you so, because I'm that kind of a skeptic.

Find Your Representative

This Link will bring you to a Senate.gov page where you can send a letter to your senator.

This Link will bring you to a House.gov page where you can contact the house representative for your district in your state.

Recommended text you can cut and past is below:

I am writing as an American Citizen working hard to exercise my right to the pursuit of happiness. Current efforts by my government to shore up companies who have failed to manage risk and are making little effort to change their business model are inhibiting that right. Thousands of dollars per tax payer have already been invested in 2008 to reward this mismanagement of companies who have failed to be good corporate citizens. Tens of thousands per taxpayer are being bandied about for 2009.

I write this asking you to help stop the madness, reallocating middle class wealth to wasteful companies who have already overburdened us with debt we cannot afford, aggressive fees and penalties we do not deserve, and who have still failed to account for their survival when their contrived financial structure has collapsed. Stop using my money to support those running these companies who are so out of touch with reality.

Please Stop Corporate Welfare!

Thank you for your time.