Obama and the Heartland: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly (Part 2)

[Enrique]

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/6177/obama_in_heartland_the_good_the_bad_the_ugly--part/

For part 1 of this piece, including "the good" and "the bad" elements of Obama's visit last week to Racine, Wisc., go here.


President Obama's recent visit to my economically-distressed hometown of Racine, Wis., was seemingly designed to show concern for the plight of working people. But Obama's visit also generated some deeply disturbing questions about the president's position on corporate globalization.

THE VERY UGLY: BAILOUT MONEY USED TO MOVE JOBS

The picket line set up outside the Obama event by infuriated members of United Auto Workers Local 72, of the Chrysler engine plant in nearby Kenosha (10 miles south of Racine), was the most immediate reminder of how U.S. taxpayer dollars have helped ship jobs overseas.

With the help of a federal "bailout" sold to the public as helping Chrysler to stay alive and retain jobs in America, Chrysler is actually using part of the funds to relocate the last 850 automaking jobs in Wisconsin to a new plant in Saltillo, Mexico.
The Kenosha to Saltillo maneuver is a particularly appalling breach of faith with both the public and workers. Chrysler and Obama administration officials, including economic advisor Lawrence Summers, broke their pledges made in an April 30, 2009, conference call almost immediately.

The very next day, Chrysler announced the relocation to Mexico. The move also broke a longstanding, formal agreement under which Chrysler committed itself to building new engine lines in Kenosha.

But while infuriating, the Chrysler move to Mexico was typical of the overall auto bailouts. The net impact of the GM and Chrysler bailouts financed by US taxpayers—shaped largely by Wall Streeters like Summers and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner—has been to eliminate more U.S. auto jobs while bringing in more components and cars produced by GM and Chrysler plants in places like Mexico and China.

(...)

[ProSense]

1. This is hilarious

People were screaming at the admnistration to bailout the auto industry, claiming that they bailed out Wall Street, but were dissing the auto industry where union jobs were at stake.

[EC]

2. They are angry at the wrong person.

They should be angry at Chrysler not President Obama. He did what he could. If he started giving orders on what Chrysler can and can't do, they would be screaming dictator at him....


I live just south of Racine, in Kenosha where the plant will be closed and we're not too upset about it, this plant has been on it's way out for years...