NFIB Opposes Automotive Industry Bailout
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Federation of Independent Business announced its initial opposition to a proposed bailout of the Big Three automotive companies.
Claiming the proposed bailout would be on the backs on small business, NFIB president and CEO, Todd Stottlemyer, reacted by issuing the following the statement.
"Small businesses owners are adamant: Don't ask us to send our tax dollars to Detroit to pay for their mistakes without significant restructuring and effective independent oversight.
"Proposals to provide as much as $50 billion to the Big Three auto companies are a misguided attempt to bail out companies that are in this situation not because of the credit crisis, but because of a long series of decisions that have led these once-admired corporations to where they are today.
"But while Detroit has been shedding American jobs, small businesses have been creating them. It's incredibly unfair to these entrepreneurs and small business owners to ask them to help pay for:
o Gold-plated healthcare plans they don't have and can't afford
o Generous pensions they don't have and can't afford
o Platinum-level retirement benefits they don't have and can't afford.
"Any taxpayer dollars provided to the Big Three must come with specific conditions, starting with top-to-bottom scrutiny of everything from the effectiveness of current management to the nature of their union and supplier contracts.
"We should learn a lesson from the success of the federal Air Transportation Stabilization Board, which helped to support a restructuring of the airline industry after 9/11 while protecting taxpayers' interests. Any public assistance to the Big Three must come with the same type of rigorous oversight.
"There are many small businesses across the country struggling to make payroll and pay the bills. They aren't asking for a bailout, and neither should Detroit's automakers."
bailout
Lots of industries need funds to bailout from bankruptcy. But, I think government must prioritize first those important industries. Bush proposed also a bailout for auto industry. Conversely, From your payday loan source: The vote about the release of the remainder of the TARP funds to Barack Obama before he was even in office was actually a bit of a struggle and only passed by 10 votes though Congress agreed to it. A lot of Senators were angry with the way that the first $350 billion was handled. The Treasury didn't keep track of what the money was spent on after they gave it to financial institutions. But the fed took taxpayer money and wasn't transparent about what it was being spent on. That's what got a lot of people upset. But Barack Obama promises he will use the remainder of the funds in a "new and responsible way." Let's hope so.