A Bad Auto Bailout Is Cheaper Than Any Bank Bailout

By Nomi Prins, AlterNet
Posted on December 9, 2008, Printed on December 9, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/111029/

Last week, as the clock was ticking on their bleeding books, it looked doubtful that the Senate would vote for the Detroit Three execs’ $34 billion (up from $25 billion two weeks ago) bailout request, or at least not without heavy strings attached. But, after November’s abysmal, 34-year high for monthly job losses' unemployment report on Friday, House Leader, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., threw an auto Hail Mary: a $15 billon bridge loan, extracted from a $25 billion fuel-efficient car program, she had previously vowed not to touch.

Not that this will last until March, as she indicated, but that aside, the remaining sticking point appears to be how an oversight committee, or "car czar" would be implemented. Details are being debated, but, given the scant oversight over the bank bailout process, and the fact that taxpayers are already racking up losses on bank stock purchases, breath-holding isn’t recommended.