Detroit Bailout Round-Up w/ Extra Schumer Flavoring

Take a minute and let this soak in. Chuck Schumer, a man who has spent (to the best of my knowledge) his entire adult life as a politician, no actual business experience, has the audacity to tell us what is and is not an acceptable business plan. He is convinced he knows what millions of consumers want, even better than they do. Scientists don't know what the landscape will look like in ten years, neither do engineers or visionaries. But Chuck Schumer somehow knows that 'plug-in hybrid electric cars' are the future.

The Car of the Future -- but at What Cost? - washingtonpost.com: "Many members of Congress believe they know what the car company of the future should look like. 'A business model based on gas -- a gas-guzzling past -- is unacceptable," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said last week. "We need a business model based on cars of the future, and we already know what that future is: the plug-in hybrid electric car.'"
[See the concepts of F.A. Hayek's economic calculation problem and dispersed knowledge.]

As expected, Dr. Roberts gets it.
Cafe Hayek: Do the car companies have a good plan?: "Why don't the Big Three save the money it takes to put together Congressional testimony and the time it takes for the people in charge to make the trip. Why don't they just take out ads in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times outlining what they're going to do with the money. Then they can try this really novel idea. They can sell bonds and borrow the money. If the plans look good, people might lend them the money. If the plans are lousy, they won't get the money. Now I understand it's hard to borrow money when things don't look so good for your future. But that's why Congress shouldn't be lending them any money."

As of course does Dr. Boudreaux.
Dear Toledo Blade: Americans Can Invest in Companies Without Bailouts: "I remind these executives that each American is already perfectly free and able, with no action from government, to 'get a stake' in these companies. Of course, few Americans now choose to do so – a fact that reflects the considered judgment of millions of people that these companies are unworthy recipients of investment funds. If millions of investors, spending their own funds, refuse to invest in GM, Ford, and Chrysler, why should Congress force them to make such investments? Why should we trust that Congress will make wiser investment decisions with other people's money than these people themselves make with their own money?"

No surprises here.
Big Three Spending Millions On Lobbying, Auto Makers Drowning In Red, But Still Spent Neary $50 Million Lobbying Congress - CBS News

Earlier posts:
The Fatal Conceit of Chaz Schumer
Gas Prices Fall - But Not Enough for Chucky Schumer!
Cretin or Crook?: Chaz Schumer on Oil Speculation