Dodd's Auto Industry Bailout Round-up

Tomorrow is the Senator's big day, where he gets to publicly lead the charge to spend some $35 billion of my (and your) money instead of letting the automakers take their lumps like everyone else. Tune in at 10:00am to say bid farewell to billions of dollars and free markets. Coverage can be found at the Huffington Post and the Detroit Free Press.

In the meantime, the public largely disagrees with the idea of bailing them out, according to this CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey. Gee, I wonder why. I think it is difficult for most average Americans to relate to the kinds of benefits that the UAW employees have gotten for themselves. I mean, I don't think unions are evil, but a number of "foreign" auto companies have successful factories staffed with non-union workers here in the US while the big 3 are crashing faster than Amy Winehouse after a night out. I understand it's not that simple, but programs like the job bank have got to go for most people to even care about the auto workers.

This NRO article calls for the UAW to make more concessions to help keep their employers in existence, and they should. They have been feeding at the trough for awhile now. But give them credit, at least a little, for making some. Time and ABC have related stories.

And here, via the Wall Street Journal, is GM's plan for pulling through.