United Liberty
They Still Don’t Get It!
Sat, 12/20/2008 - 5:44am | posted by Dr. John Killian
I suppose that credit should be due to Senate Republicans who made the difference in defeating the Auto Bailout. I also believe that President Bush’s brazen act of shifting money to the automakers is shameful operation.
But then Senate Republicans release a letter pleading with President Bush not to usurp the decision of Congress on the automakers bailout.
So far, so good.
But then these Senate Republicans gave their reason for opposing the bailout as the refusal of the United Auto Workers to agree to a cut in wages.
These folks still don’t get it!
The issue is neither corporate salaries nor worker’s wages. The issue is that government would be running a private enterprise at the cost of taxpayers and then managing this private enterprise. For years, liberty-minded conservatives have warned of creeping socialism, but the recent bailouts, with the infusion debt-based money and more government control over private corporations is not just creeping socialism, but leaping socialism.
By going so public with concerns over the hourly wages of workers, the Republicans feed the image of a Party representing big business, and not the common laboring worker. Many of us, who vote Republican, are frustrated when the typical coal miner and steel worker will vote against his values by voting for a liberal Democrat. But then when Republican leaders in Congress show disregard for the interests of workers on the bailout issue, one can see the reluctance to vote Republican.
Rather than oppose the bailout on principle, these GOP Senators wanted to use this legislation as a means to lower wages, thus, feeding the idea that the Republican Party is the party of corporate greed
In 1980, millions of Americans rallied to the mantra of Ronald Reagan who wanted to get big government off of your back and out of your pocket. Today’s GOP seems to have forgotten that government spending is the great long-term hindrance to economic growth. If these bailouts are positive, then why not nationalize all of the corporations? Remember, the overwhelming number of Republicans actually opposed these bailouts. I just hope these Republicans learn that the answer is less government, lower taxes, and more individual responsibility. Reaganism is what built the modern GOP, a coalition which included millions of hard working men and women of the laboring class. Bailouts are a big part of the dismantling of that Reagan coalition.
Ronald Reagan gave America hope, and made us believe that we could produce our way out our problems. God help us.
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