U.S Big Three Bailout

One big luggage Obama seems to be carrying. *The one great crisis that President Elect Obama will be facing is the economy. Just recently the Big 3 auto makers have come to the bailout window and ask for loan guarantees in excess of 25 Billion dollars. GM alone is going through 2 billion dollars a month. The stakes are extraordinary, with two of Detroits Big Three, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler near bankruptcy and a third, Ford Motor Co., at risk of being pulled down. The government has already approved a 25 billion dollar package in order to retool. The top adviser of President-elect Barack Obama, David Axelrod, has a warning for U.S. automakers. Obama has supported giving the industry a hand, but has said he would not support a "blank check." Without a plan to retool and restructure, there is very little taxpayers can do to help. Congress refused to act on a bailout plan for the Big Three auto companies. Lawmakers are demanding that company executives first explain how they would reorganize themselves and make the industry viable. Axelrod said Congress was sending the right signal to the industry. Unlike the banking industry, the carmakers have no strong in-house champion to help make their case. The United Auto Workers (UAW) set the new tone Wednesday by offering labor adjustments to reduce costs, most directly impacting GM. A small army of auto-parts makers is coming to Washington to lobby, and the Big Three CEOs have undergone a personality change since their disastrous hearings last month. ニュースアニメ「オバマ新政権『ビッグ３救済』が試金石」 ビッグスリー（米自動車３大メーカー）が存亡の危機に立たされている。ゼネラル・モーターズ（ＧＭ）とフォード・モーターの７～９月期決算は、金融危機の影響で業績回復の兆しが見えない状況を浮き彫りにした。１社でも破綻すれば大量の失業者が生じる。ビッグ３スリーの首脳は、米上院銀行委員会でそれぞれの窮状を証言、米政府に低利融資を要請した。２０世紀以降、車社会の米経済を牽引した自動車産業は、歴史上最も危機的な時期にある。経済が最重要課題のオバマ次期大統領にとって、ビッグスリー救済の判断が最初の試金石となりそうだ。大統領選で全米自動車労組（ＵＡＷ）の支持を受けたオバマ氏は、世論の厳しい批判が集まる「ウォール街（金融街）」と区別して、米自動車産業を「メーンストリート（目抜き通り＝普通の人々）」の産業と位置づけ、支援に理解を示している。しかし、税金による「デトロイト救済」が拡大すれば、過去最悪の財政赤字を悪化させることになり、難しい判断が迫られそうだ。

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YouTube | December 9, 2008