Step One: Mismanage Your Company Into Insolvency, Step Two: Spend Tens Of Millions Lobbying Congress
Step three: Profit?
Depends on whether or not all that lobbying pays off and the automakers get their bailout.
The auto industry spent nearly $50 million lobbying Congress in the first nine months of this year.
And people tied to the auto industry gave another $15 million in campaign contributions…
It’s not surprising that a lot of that money went to members of Congress from Michigan, where the auto industry is the biggest employer and politicians are passionate advocates for their constituents.
Take Sen. Carl Levin, who received $438,304 from the automotive industry. And in the House, Rep. Joe Knollenberg received $879,327. Rep. John Dingell got nearly a million from the industry. All have enjoyed generous support from the auto industry over their careers, with GM and Ford as their two top contributors. All support a bailout.
But nobody’s been a bigger advocate for Motor City interests than Dingell. And for him, the stakes aren’t just political, they’re personal.
Just so we’re clear: The “big three” have plany of money available for paying off members of Congress and fly in private jets to DC to beg for a bailout, but not enough money to run their businesses in a solvent manner without taxpayer money.
Not a very pretty reality, is it?
We shouldn’t be bailing these idiots out. We should let them fail. Because that’s how free markets work.
