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Sunday, August 9, 2009

Obama -- A man who repays his debts

Say what you will about Barack Obama, the man doesn't forget a political favor.

The autoworkers' unions endorsed him in '08, and have been reaping the benefits ever since.

When Chrysler went bankrupt, Obama handed the company over to the unions, who had previously had no ownership stake, in a unique arrangement which flouted all heretofore observed bankruptcy procedures. The bondholders, who should have become the legal owners of the company, were left with almost nothing.

Ditto for GM.

Obama even wants to get rid of the secret ballot, whereby workers can cast their ballots regarding whether to unionize in private. Obama wants to make all union votes public, exposing the workers to all manner of intimidation, from both unions and employers. (That the unions want to get rid of the secret ballot and management does not tells you which side intends to do the intimidating.)

The cash for clunkers program is yet another payoff to the UAW. Why not cash for old washing machines, or old ovens, or air conditioners? (Hint: the UAW does not manufacture those.)

Has there ever been an endorsement which has paid off more handsomely?

Well, maybe. Goldman Sachs was the largest contributor to Obama's campaign, with $994,000, a tad less than a million. But those employees who gave have been paid back in billions, not only by the bailouts, but by the administration's toothless proposals to cap executive pay, and by their overall hands off attitude towards Wall Street, a stance which has been shaped in part by Goldman puppet Timothy Geithner.

During the next campaign I'm going to donate as much money as I can possibly afford to the Obama campaign, and give him my official endorsement to boot. It's an investment that should pay off handsomely.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

John,
Couldn't agree with you more...its always the regular folk who get screwed. All the high ups reap the benifits and occasionaly throw a crumb down for the rest of us. Its OK with me....when the revolution hits there will be many targets of opportunity.
Mad Dog

John Craig said...

Mad Dog --
Thank you for your comment. Obama actually seems to be pursuing a bifurcated strategy, appeasing his donors on Wall Street and also cementing his support among the unions. When the revolution comes I guess it will be the non-Wall Street rich and the middle class who will have the biggest axe to grind with him.