Drew over at Ace's place:
Last night's [auto bailout] efforts failed when the UAW refused to agree to wage parity between US automakers and non-union foreign manufactures with plants here in the US.
I wonder how the lower paid but profitable non-union workers at Honda and Toyota plants here in the US feel about their taxes going to prop up their overpaid and bankrupt competitors.
Joseph Stiglitz, writing in the Financial Times ("Chapter 11 is the right road for US carmakers"):
Financial markets are supposed to allocate capital and monitor that it is used to good effect. They are supposed to be rewarded when they do that job well, but bear the consequences when they fail. The markets failed. Wall Street’s focus on quarterly returns encouraged the short-sighted behaviour that contributed to their own demise and that of America’s manufacturing, including the automotive industry. Today, they are asking to escape accountability. We should not allow it.
What needs to be done is to help the automakers get a fresh start and allow them to focus on producing good cars rather than trying to juggle their books to meet past obligations.
Related: Ten cars that killed Detroit.
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