Big Three battle comes down to party politics

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28239206/

Here are my favorite parts:

What's amazing is that Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is such a huge critic of using taxpayer money to bail out Detroit. Amazing because the state of Alabama has provided hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to lure foreign auto companies to build factories on its soil.

Of course course, when Alabama gave Mercedes-Benz $253 million to build a factory there, or about $168,000 per job created, that was considered a good thing. When Honda considered building a new factory there, that was worth $158 million, and Hyundai's Southern site choice forced the state to cough up $234 million more. Again, these were considered wise investments because the promise was that they would create more jobs for the chronically underpaid Alabama workforce. However, in the summer of 2003, Mercedes brought in Polish workers on questionable B-1 work visas to expand the factory because they could be paid far less than the local workforce.

So you had Alabama gifting state tax dollars to Mercedes' factory, only to discover that some of the jobs it created went to much cheaper labor imported from Eastern Europe.

Look at Senator Bob Corker of (R-Tenn.). The former mayor of Chattanooga was one of those responsible for winning the new Volkswagen factory at a cost of $577 million in tax incentives. Moreover, Tennessee got that factory only because Alabama offered the Germans a mere $385 million.

Mississippi paid $284 million for a new Toyota plant; Kia got $324 million from Georgia. Texas had to fork over only $133 million for Toyota's Tundra plant in San Antonio, while Tennessee gave $197.6 million not for a new Nissan factory but simply so Nissan would move its American headquarters to Nashville. There are other factories — BMW in South Carolina, Nissan in Mississippi, and so on — but you get the point.

The Republican senators from these states see no problem whatsoever with paying to bring new automobile production to their states, and the media always quotes them gloating about how smart it is to spend that type of money because it creates jobs.

Mercedes recently offered a buyout to its entire workforce in Alabama, and Hyundai has never gotten its Alabama factory up to full capacity. Toyota will not use its upcoming Mississippi factory to build its Highlander SUV, and Nissan is converting its factory in that state to build commercial vehicles. Toyota has been forced to shut its Texas truck plant because of scanty orders for the new Tundra, and so on. So Senator Shelby's statement that Detroit "doesn't innovate. They're a dinosaur," while his partner Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) brags about the "very large and vibrant automobile sector in Alabama," doesn't exactly ring true.

So we find that nonunion, low-cost, state-subsidized, state-of-the-art auto plants in America are having their fair share of problems, too. But according to Senate Republicans, the only part of the American car industry that isn't working is in Detroit.

[Dan J 277]

The whole thing turned into a vote about unions.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

...but it's about principle.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

If the south can do it better (i.e. similar or superior quality at lower cost), then let them.

You should all want the inferior big three to fail. It'll make for a better automotive marketplace for the consumer.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

If the south can do it better (i.e. similar or superior quality at lower cost), then let them.

You should all want the inferior big three to fail. It'll make for a better automotive marketplace for the consumer.

Government intervention - when is it right and when is it wrong.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

If the south can do it better (i.e. similar or superior quality at lower cost), then let them.

You should all want the inferior big three to fail. It'll make for a better automotive marketplace for the consumer.

The South does it with subsidies paid for by the taxpayer. $170,000 tax moeny paid per job is even less sensible than even the most exaggerated claim about union wages.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

So the Alabama taxpayer foots the bill to build a superior quality automobile which provides the American consumer with more value for their money. What's the problem?

Would you rather pay more and get less (and by 'less' I mean detroit-produced garbage)?

Edited December 18, 2008 by A.J.

[The_Dude 1,142]

They should let them fail. Why bail them out to perpetuate their failed business model?

The south needs the big 3 to be bailed out..... What would they do without their ford/chevy/gmc trucks?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

They should let them fail. Why bail them out to perpetuate their failed business model?

The south needs the big 3 to be bailed out..... What would they do without their ford/chevy/gmc trucks?

True. You can't haul manure in a Mercedes, AJ.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

But you can in this!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Alabama receives $1.66 in federal tax money for every dollar they send to Washington (mostly at NJ's expense, the #2 donor state). No wonder they can afford to lure foreign investment!

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Bomb Alabama.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Alabama receives $1.66 in federal tax money for every dollar they send to Washington (mostly at NJ's expense, the #2 donor state). No wonder they can afford to lure foreign investment!

Word.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Alabama receives $1.66 in federal tax money for every dollar they send to Washington (mostly at NJ's expense, the #2 donor state). No wonder they can afford to lure foreign investment!

Fck foreign investment. How about some American investment. See how Alabama feels when Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda take over NASCAR.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Alabama receives $1.66 in federal tax money for every dollar they send to Washington (mostly at NJ's expense, the #2 donor state). No wonder they can afford to lure foreign investment!

Fck foreign investment. How about some American investment. See how Alabama feels when Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda take over NASCAR.

You have an excellent point! I love the irony of the "real" Americans and patriots in the south cheering the demise of the american auto industry in a time of war.