Don't get me wrong...

... I hate the Big 2 (3? Not really.)
I think they've coasted on their success for no less than 50 years. I think they've refused to innovate, refused to utilize their domination of the auto industry to push us into greener transportation systems, refused to research new technologies, all because then they wouldn't be able to coast. They'd have to work at it. Now, here they are, (and when I say "they," I should say "we," as I live in Detroit, and if/when the auto industry dies, so does everything else around here. I'll post the "Why I hate Detroit" post later.) Now here we are, in a position where there's been no innovation, no real push for public transit, no help from the auto makers to move us into a more energy independent future (even though the 1970's Energy Crisis should have pushed them over the hump,) and *gasp* they're having trouble surviving? unforeseen horror of horrors!

Now, I've said all that to say:

If Detroit asks for $34B in LOANS, and gets 15 in strings, I don't have a problem with that on its own. But when an entire blue collar industry asks for less than one BANK got to save its a$$, and only gets half as much as they asked for, with the caveat that if the government CAR CZAR (i.e. ONE MAN) doesn't like what they're doing, the whole rug can get pulled out from under them, pretty much at any time, for any reason, I start to call "foul."

What, we "absolutely, positively, have-to got-to save the banking sector NOW NOW NOW or all of western civilization goes down and the terrorists win!" but God forbid we give the US manufacturing hub loans to the tune of 5% of the TARP fund, just to be able to go back to work after singing "Auld Lang Syne?"

Come ON, ref! You're blind as a bat! Hellen Keller would have made that call better! Throw me a bone, here!

Look, I live in Detroit, so I'm used to disappointment. I've got the Lions and Tigers, the Big 3, ... Detroit. But this is a little ridiculous. Let's just sit down and get a little perspective here. Citi CEO demands his $2M annual bonus (not kidding,) Detroit execs earn $1/year. Financial sector gets $350B in CASH (Yes, a "capital infusion.") Detroit gets $15B in LOANS that can be revoked at any time, if Detroit doesn't "get its act back into shape." Fairness, anyone? Fight Club finale, anyone? And, yes, I am repeating myself here, because I still can't believe it.

Yes, Detroit failed to innovate and evolve, and failed to produce the cars that the voices in the wilderness demanded they make, mostly because those voices couldn't be heard over the focus groups' calls for "more cup holders!" However, the current crisis in both the financial sector and in Detroit is not the fault of the auto industry. It was created by Wall Street Sooper-Geniuses who thought they could trade toxic debt with impunity, therefore crushing the credit market for everybody; bankers, manufacturers and consumers alike.

Including me. And that's where this all gets personal. Because if this all falls through and we end up with most of the US auto industry failing (I really, really hope Ford doesn't come through the sole victor...)-- I digress. Let me regroup for one last charge to the end...

If the auto industry fails, Detroit collapses. Detroit collapses, my home devalues to 1980's levels, the job market super-saturates, wages fall to 1970's levels, mass exodus from Michigan, thereby flooding the job markets of many other states (we're talking many millions of jobs here, folks!) So when I say that it gets personal, I'm not just talking about me. I'm talking about you. No matter where you live. Detroit's comin' t' get ya.

So, before you bitch and moan about the Detroit "bailout," consider that the Wall St. bailout is twenty times bigger and still ongoing, and Uncle Sam ain't never gonna see that money again.

(I feel really weird defending the US automakers... Did I just become a populist Democrat?)