Flat tires all around, and guess who's getting asked for a jack?

Well, I'm glad to see it's back to business as usual. Yesterday, the CEOs of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, along with the president of the United Auto Workers met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to hold hands out for even more federal aid. General Motors, in a statement, said the effort was to help "the competitive U.S. auto industry contribute to our nation's economic revival." How very. It seems in recent months, the only competition the auto industry has had is seeing who can rack up bigger volumes of unsold (read low mileage) vehicles, due to the industry's inability to develop anything other than massive pick-ups and sport utility vehicles.

In addition to help in getting their mitts on federal bailout monies from the Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve, the auto industry is wanting $25 billion in federal loans, so they can pay future health care costs for retirees. Perfect. The industry makes a deal with the unions just over a year ago, and now they can't figure out how to pay for it. According to Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the automakers will use the money to "invest in jobs and opportunities for American workers and American industry." Again, how very. General Motors, in particular, is burning through a billion dollars a month, and all of a sudden, they want two years of blow-through cash to invest in jobs and opportunities? Then why, I need to know, are Ford and GM planning job cuts, if they are getting ready to invest in jobs? Are these the same jobs the UAW helps price workers out of in a matter of years? Will Ford, GM, and Chrysler continue to operate in the exact same fashion, on the taxpayers' dime, or will they actually invest in fuel-efficient technologies and production capabilities to prevent these vehicles from costing $30 grand a piece?

If the new, stronger Democratic Congress and Senate wants to help the auto industry, then what they should do is wait the 100 days that GM says is so critical for the auto industry, see who is still standing, and then for clearer ideas of how exactly the bailout cash will be used for good. The last thing the American people need is the loss of these auto jobs, I grant you, but at the same stroke, not if it means coughing up bonus money for the ineffectual chief executives that helped steer the industry into the less-than-stellar shape they're in? Then again, we are talking about Nancy Pelosi, who never met a problem she couldn't throw a blank check at, so Lord only knows...