Bailout Blues

According to the suddenly fiscally conservative Harry Reid:

The auto industry has until December 2 to fashion a plan that will provide a path to "accountability and viability," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday.

Which was topped by Nancy Pelosi Maguire:

"This is an important industry in our country and we intend to save it," Pelosi said. "Until they show us a plan we cannot show them the money."

Thank heaven for corporate jets (too bad they haven't worked with Al Gore yet) since they glaringly displayed the corporate arrogance souring the stomachs of all except the bitter, clinging union auto workers who voted in droves for Obama.

But surely the automakers are scratching their heads about this ultimatum, wondering what to do based on ObamaBiden's plan for US bidnesses:

Reward Companies that Support American Workers: Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 with Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to reward companies that create good jobs with good benefits for American workers. The legislation would provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America if it has ever been in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military.

With Obama's overt support of card check and vows to expand programs like family friendly it's certainly going to be an interesting challenge.

Here's a possibility--suck it up and get your labor costs in order like the airlines have for years; start offering better warranties on better built cars; offer to sell the government one factory to keep in reserve for making military vehicles in case World War III ever breaks out--charge them the government rate of course; announce that all top level management will fly commercial and drive their own company cars; along with the labor renegotiation announce that ALL employees will not make more than the highest wage-earner salary in any plant. The only way to make more would be profit-sharing, but the profit sharing plan would allow double or triple earnings over scale based on profitability reports verified by outside auditors.

Either that or announce that all corporate personnel will be replaced Monday morning by Japanese and all wage workers with Mexicans. Either one.