Quality Weenie

Hypocrisy Thy Name Is Southern Senators

Its funny that the senators from Southern States that have foreign auto's are actively campaigning against the domestics getting a LOAN.

Let's take a look at Senator Shelby from Alabama, whos state includes Hyandai, Toyota and Honda plants (gee wonder why he doesn't want domestics around)

"The strength of the American economic system is it allows us to take risks -- to create, to innovate, to grow, to succeed and sometimes to fail," he said last week. "Every time government endeavors to alter any of these dynamics, it undermines and distorts the forces of work in all of them."

So he feels that government shouldn't help businesses AT ALL.

Hmmmmmm

I guess that $160 million dollars he has gotten for Alabamas fishing industry is much different. And that wasn't a LOAN, it was a hand-out, a bailout if you will.

“As a result of the volatile 2005 hurricane season and the drought that continues to plague the southeastern United States, Alabama fisheries have taken a significant economic and ecological hit,” said Shelby. “These recent events, compounded with high fuel prices and increased restrictions on the fisheries, have created a cumulative effect that has shrimpers and fishermen struggling to stay in business. This funding will provided much needed assistance to an industry that is a vital part of the Alabama economy”

Lets see, the senator thinks it is ok to give money to industrys that are hit due to economic reasons.

Annual sales of auto's were steady at around 16.5-17 million vehicles per year but in 2007 & 2008 we are looking at sales of around $11 million vehicles.

Why are vehicles not selling?

The depressed housing market, lack of access to credit and lower consumer confidence are weighing on new-vehicle demand.

So Senator Shelby thinks giving money away to the fishing industry because of economic downturn is no problem, but when it comes to an industry that is in direct competition with a major portion of his own states industry it's not ok to even give a LOAN.

And lets not even get into the BILLIONS of dollars of incentives that foreign automakers have received for building their plants in the south.

I want to go specifically to Alabama if I could for a minute. We have Hyundai Motor Company that got $252 million in incentives. Toyota there got $29 million in incentives. Honda, $158 million and Mercedes $253 million in incentives.

Alabama also offered to offered to train the workers, clear and improve the sites, upgrade the utilities, buy 2,500 vehicles and gave them the land worth $300 million.

So adding all the incentives that Alabama gave to just Mercedes to build their plant there you are looking at around $175,000 per employee.

So Southern Senators are spouting that the domestics are asking for "special" favors from the government but forget to mention about all the "favors" companies in their own states have gotten.

As I have said, the southern senators have a huge interest in seeing the domestic auto makers fail.

Posted by Quality Weenie at December 10, 2008 10:56 AM | TrackBack