Looking around at other blogs there is a noticeable lack of discussion of the bailout assistance that GM, Chrysler, and Ford are seeking on the Hill. I think for many Democrats this is a tenuous position that was always headed toward this point. The auto industry, and its labor representation, have long been supporters and in turn protected by policies of labor friendly Democrats. It’s impossible for us to not consider that labor contracts do need to be reviewed there are clauses in there that would crush any normal business. This isn’t to say that the Big 3 should drop employee protection and health benefits, but the CBA, like all aspects of the auto-industry, should be reviewed.

I should pause here though, and point out that some of the claims being repeated by the auto-industry with regard to how much they need to pay employees because of the labor contract are mislead. Repeated in the media is the claim of $70 an hour, the UAW website refutes those figures. However, I have yet to see an independent analysis of total cost of employment combining real wages and benefits, if you’ve seen it please drop it in the comments.

With prospects looking dim for any kind of vote happening in November, now is the time to evaluate a proper course of action for Government to take. There are only two options, government helps the auto industry, or it allows it to go bankrupt, fall into liquidation, adapt and survive, or languish and fail. The option of bankruptcy would be devastating to an already suffering American economy, but allowing the auto industry to continue business as usual is amoral. We can’t be expected to bail the industry out, just because of our support for labor.

As for issuing a bailout, if done under the currently proposed terms it amounts to nothing more than corporate welfare, and once that tap is turned on, it will never be shut off. Each year, Detroit will return to Congress asking for additional assistance, citing labor and competition as red-herrings. This is unacceptable.

As I and others see it, this is an opportunity for radical reform. And just at this hour with Representative Waxman taking control of the Energy and Commerce Committee we have the legislator to do it, and evidently the Congressional support. If Detroit really wants our help then they need to change the way they do business. Management restructuring must begin immediately, people need to be fired, they need to open their books up to the government, engineers and innovators need to replace advertisers and marketing gurus as the heads of company divisions.

Congress could pass legislation to create a a bailout fund for the domestic auto-industry, that they would need to apply for. The conditions for acceptance would include what has been mentioned above, but also the acceptance and pursuit of strict environmental standards. The money needs to be used for increasing production of money and energy saving vehicles. As condition of acceptance, they will need to make reports to agencies to be designated in both the legislative and executive branches. President-Elect Obama should be given the direction and statute to create an executive level position to oversee the companies that elect to draw from the fund.

If the industry finds an arrangement like this unacceptable, then short of nationalization of the industry, we need to call their bluff, and let them fail.

Times of tragedy and crisis are the times when big change happens most often. President Bush used tragedy and crisis to subvert our Constitution and laws, we as Democrats have a chance to use crisis to create a new industry of energy efficient vehicles, and accomplish meaningful reform that has languished for 20 years.