***Editor’s Note: Andy McGee is a Columnist and Liberal Commentator for “The Thirsty Quill.” While ‘The Quill’ appreciates Mr. McGee’s contributions, it must be noted that his views and opinions are strictly his own, and the reader should recognize that they contradict the Conservative views, opinions, and positions of “The Thirsty Quill.”***

“A Big Helping Of Bailout Reality Served Southern Style”

By: Andy McGee, Columnist

So, what are the real issues with the “Big 3” bailout?

There are many questions that I have about the chain of events that is unfolding related to the “Big 3” automakers here in America. I have heard valid points form both sides over the past few weeks, and I believe that both sides have very strong convictions about what they think is, and what is not, the right thing to do.

On one side, we have the Detroit-based companies with hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs throughout the Northeast, along with scores of supplier/retail locations all over the country. This side has many nuances, none more visible than their labor Union, the infamous U.A.W. (who coincidentally have shown terrific leadership during this time of turmoil).

On the other side however, we have a hand full of ‘Southern Senators’ who are seemingly dead set on blocking any type of help that would stave off bankruptcy for two of the “Big 3” (GM and Chrysler). I have heard these Senators state that their reasoning varies from ‘sound judgment,’ to “not putting money into a failing project,” to accusing the “Big 3” of going against the true principles of a free market.

I think there are a couple of other items at work here. Maybe you, the readers of ‘The Quill,’ can chime in and tell me if I am missing something.

Here is what I see is really at stake for these Southern Senators:

1.They are defending their local constituency who work in the plants of these private, foreign-owned companies like Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda. These Senators represent constituents that have subsidized these foreign companies over the last few years to attract them to their respective states.

2.They have been given a grand stage to deliver a ‘death blow’ to an old and nagging rival: The UNION.

(Union: the term has been besmirched and dragged through the mud enough to make even the most casual American wonder “what are these guys really all about?”)

As I mentioned before, I have been following this whole story rather extensively, and what I perceive is quite amazing. It seems to me that you have those in the South that believe in the ideal of being a “Right to Hire” state. Set into motion, the results shape up something like this: “Hey Jack, if you don’t like it, you can work…it just won’t be here.”

Then you have the North, which is traditionally Unionized. There, a worker has rights, and everyone has come to learn that those rights are often a big logistical nightmare if a company is looking to lower their bottom line.

Ever since reading Stienbach’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” I have been of the opinion that there is a place for organized labor and the rights that these Unions seek for their members. In the long run, they not only offer a particular benefit to the workers they represent, but also a vehicle toward middle class stability and our national security.

To be fair, there are a number of concessions that these Unions can make to a perspective business owner, shareholder, or entrepreneur. Furthermore, I am also convinced that some of their guidelines can make other folks wonder why in the hell they decided to do business with a Union in the first place?

What we are talking about here are different ideologies. Upon further review, I bet you will find that if you were to throw out the labels and look at the foreign-owned businesses in the South (and the Union-run workers in the North), you would see that they are not really all that different.

Just look at what the lobbyists and private companies have invested in these Southern Senators. I bet you’d find that the numbers are similar to the amounts that Unions have pumped into the campaigns of pro-labor Senators from the north. Similarly, the average Union worker only makes about $3.00 more per hour than their peers in the foreign-owned companies in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.

In closing, my question is this: “At what point do the constituents of the states that benefit from foreign-owned businesses push their Senators and Congressional appointees to do what is right for our country as a whole?” Could they possibly be so isolated that they believe that the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler wont hurt all of us in time?

***Editor’s Note: Andy McGee is a Columnist and Liberal Commentator for “The Thirsty Quill.” While ‘The Quill’ appreciates Mr. McGee’s contributions, it must be noted that his views and opinions are strictly his own, and the reader should recognize that they contradict the Conservative views, opinions, and positions of “The Thirsty Quill.”***

United for work, or holding on for dear life?