The Republicans in the Senate have managed to bring the auto industry bridge loan proposal, already passed by the House and agreed to by the White House to a screeching halt, which probably means upwards of 3 million more Americans will be unemployed shortly.

The Republicans were demanding that the United Auto Workers take major pay cuts and give up benefits before they would even discuss the loans, and the UAW refused to participate in a one-sided give away.

I don’t remember the Republican Senators offering to give up their health care or Senate pensions as a result of the huge deficits they have accumulated over the last 8 years. Nor have they explained why none of the money we have been pumping into the financial sector was available to the auto companies while the financial sector is talking about megabuck bonuses for executives.

Over at the Agonist there’s a piece called More Car Thoughts about how the US auto industry can be saved by acting like Steve Jobs.

One of the key points is that the Big Three should shut down all of their assembly plants and just put the actual production out to bid.

Of course, this might help stockholders and the executives, but it obviously screws the workers. No concern is given to the minor point – who will buy all of these wonderful, up-to-date cars that are being built wherever. The workers in the companies that would probably get the bids don’t make enough to buy a cup of coffee at a Dunkin’ Donuts, much less an expresso in the areas where there are Apple stores, so they aren’t going to be buying them. This will outsource even more jobs, and create an even deeper recession.

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The light blue/cyan and white areas are what is known in the weather business as “snow”, even though the city is New Orleans. The fluffy white stuff was in Houston last night. It’s not unknown along the Gulf Coast, but it is not a common winter occurrence.

They will be fishing the unfamiliar out of the bayous if the temperature stays down low enough for any of it to stick to the roads.