Georgia to Detroit: Drop dead!
December 16, 2008 at 5:39 pm by Scott Henry in NewsCan you say car-denfreude?
Slate has an interesting piece about how Southern states banded together to block the proposed federal bailout of the Big Three automakers. We know the opposition was led by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and other prominent Republicans, but the Slate article explains how it wasn’t GOP philosophy — or simply a shared dislike of unions (though that’s a big factor) — that rallied their efforts.
It was more the fact that foreign car makers have been very good to several Southern states — much better than Detroit has been in recent years. Ford shut down it ’40s-era Hapeville plant in 2006 and GM closed the doors on its Doraville factory this past September. But Kia, from South Korea, is already hiring Georgia autoworkers for its first U.S. plant, set to open in a few months in West Point.
While the Big Three frequently exhibit an air of entitlement when dealing with the state and federal governments – remember the disastrous private-jet caravan when the CEOs came to cry poverty in Washington? – the foreign automakers have gone out of their way to ingratiate themselves with their new hosts.
Other Asian and European companies are likewise heavily invested in the South — Toyota in Kentucky; BMW in South Carolina; Honda, Mercedes and Hyundai in Alabama; and Nissan and Volkswagen in Tennessee.
Basically, the thinking is no longer “What’s good for GM is good for America,” but may be “What’s good for Kia is good for West Georgia.”
December 16th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Instead of “What’s good for GM, is good for America”, maybe it is becoming “What is good for America, is good for America”.
The politicians may not be loyal to foreign manufacturers, but, rather, to the voters who work in those plants.
December 17th, 2008 at 1:26 am
I agree with DanC. This is representatives doing what they do for once–represent. Detroit is not in Georgia (yes that’s a simplification, but it shows the point clearly enough).
December 17th, 2008 at 9:22 am
I wonder if any of those congressmen were the same ones wanting to pump out the Great Lakes in case the drought got worse…
December 17th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Suddenly, Southern Republicans are principled free marketeers. Ha. And ha!
http://washingtonindependent.com/22236/cars
Where was Sen. Shelby when Alabama gave $300 million in taxpayer subsidies to Mercedes, Honda and Toyota?
Did Corker complain when Tennessee approved nearly $800 million in taxpayer subsidies for VW and Nissan?
And I’ve heard not a peep about South Carolina’s $150 payout to BMW, Mississippi’s $363 million payout to Nissan or Georgia’s whopping $415 million handout to KIA.
Southern Republicans who blocked the auto bailout are provincial corporate socialists. Nothing more.
December 17th, 2008 at 11:48 am
No, they are something more. They are also dicknecks.
December 17th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I can only comment on Alabama in the examples. The biggest “incentive” given were tax breaks, meaning taxes the new manufacturers won’t be there to pay without the incentives. There was not that much in actual cash.
Plus, you could combine EVEY souther auto plant incentive and it would be a drop in the bucket to the current situation.
Is there a difference in giving up $ 300 M to land three new car plants, as opposed to $ 25 Billion to keep them around for three or four months? Is there a difference in giving up $ 300 M that you don’t have (tax breaks) for $ 25 B that you do have or will have to pay later?
I was just saying they were whores for votes, rather than foreign manufacturers. :-) I am not saying any of these turds are principaled, but they had the choice to compete or not land the jobs, along with power, prestige and future tax flows which is their real objective.
December 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I guess the correct response to the whole “where were the” question is probably, “In Washington, acting like US Senators rather than State House Reps and Governors”.
It wasn’t their money and it was none of their business.
Again, let me reiterate that I am not exactly enamored with these guys and don’t really consider them to be all that principled.