Bailout News Updates

Panel Overseeing Bailout Criticizes Treasury Department - From Washington Post
"We've been lied to. We've been bamboozled. What we have here is one big mess," said Rep. Davis Scott (D-Ga.), who like several others on the House Financial Services Committee focused on the fact that the hundreds of billions of dollars used to shore up the capital position of banks is not being felt in the form of easier credit for homeowners and businesses.

Democrats and White House Close In on Auto Deal - From NYT
The rescue plan would extend $15 billion in emergency loans to General Motors and Chrysler, the two most imperiled automakers, and would subject them to far-reaching government oversight at the direction of a so-called car czar to be named by Mr. Bush.
Ford is not seeking short-term loans because it is not as bad off as the other two big automakers.

UAW seeking GM board seat -union official - From Reuters
The United Auto Workers union is seeking a stake in General Motors Corp and a board seat as it offers concessions intended to allow the automaker to slash costs and clinch federal aid, a union official said.

$73 an Hour: Adding It Up - From NYT
“We’ve heard this garbage about 73 bucks an hour,” Senator Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said last week. “It’s a total lie. I think some people have perpetrated that deliberately, in a calculated way, to mislead the American people about what we’re doing here.”
So what is the reality behind the number? Detroit’s defenders are right that the number is basically wrong. Big Three workers aren’t making anything close to $73 an hour (which would translate to about $150,000 a year).