Czars All Around

Its a sad day when the US government is taking a page from the Russian playbook on governance:

Now, the Kremlin seems to be capitalizing on the economic crisis, exploiting the opportunity to establish more control over financially weakened industries that it has long coveted, particularly those in natural resources.

With the financial crisis jolting economies around the world, Russia is hardly alone in taking ownership stakes in corporations these days. But many governments seem to view this as an uncomfortable role that has been thrust upon them. Russia’s rulers, however, appear to perceive the crisis as a chance to further expand their control over the economy, concentrating ever more power and wealth in the Kremlin.

The vote on the auto industry bailout is coming soon and what’s at stake is whether the Federal government can further muscle its way into yet another vestige of private industry.  The government is demanding strict “oversight” in exchange for yet another taxpayer-funded bailout.  This time, in the guise of a $15 billion bridge “loan”.  Amusing:

Congressional Democrats were drafting legislation Sunday for tight government control of the crippled American auto industry, including the possible creation of an oversight board made up of five cabinet secretaries and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency and led by an independent chairman or “car czar.”

While the form of oversight was still to be negotiated by Congressional Democrats and the White House, the talks made clear the extent to which the auto companies would have to submit to substantial government supervision in order to receive a taxpayer-financed bailout.

Whatever oversight entity is created, it would direct the drastic reorganization plans that the auto companies have said they were willing to undertake in exchange for billions of dollars in short-term government loans to keep them in business, a senior Congressional aide said. A main factor complicating the deliberations was the imminent transition between the Bush and Obama administrations.

Details  of  the bailout package are emerging, which includes the creation of a “car czar”, who will determine by April 2009, if the automakers recovery is going as scheduled.  Amazing.   So, for thirty years the auto industry couldn’t get anything right.  But now, with billions in taxpayer money, they’ve suddenly learned how to run their business?  And our government will provide “oversight”?  All I see is more bureaucracy, more waste and misguided priorites. 

It’s encouraging to see Richard Shelby and Bob Corker stand up to the bailout nonsense going on in Washington right now.   But I won’t hold my breath waiting for a filibuster of this loanbailout package to the automakers, which most likely goes to a vote in the Senate and House sometime next week.   I’m not going to pretend that the Republicans in the Senate were the ones voting against billions upon billions of pork spending over the last six years, feeding at the public trough along with the Democrats, at the behest of President Bush.  If there’s one thing this group of Senators has shown us, it’s that fiscal conservatism is dead and with a few exceptions (Shelby, Corker, et al) they will have to prove that they have the fortitude to fight this down.  The Republican party needs to rebuild on conservative ideals; fiscal irresponsibility is not an exception to this plan.  As Malkin notes, if it means no bipartisanship, so be it.   This is the perfect time  for ideological purity. 

The Democrats on the other hand, continue to play hot potato with the auto bailout.  Obama is all talk , and the Dems want some action from their President-elect.  Whereas in September they were willing to hand over $700 billion in bailout money to the Treasury, no questions asked, now they are being a little more demanding.  Make no mistake, this is political showmanship on the part of the Democrats.  They are a conniving bunch.  The American public is becoming very uneasy about how brazenly our government is handing out what amounts to corporate welfare; government money rewarding failure and ineptitude.  They’d rather not want to feel any of the reprecussions of a failed and shortsighted bailout policy, if once their plans fail.