Why Won't They Give Detroit Money?

Because these are factory workers not office workers, and people who don't sit at desks don't belong in the middle class.

The House will vote tonight on whether to pass an auto industry bailout plan. Everyone is complaining about how the CEOs of Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler are begging for taxpayer money as a result of bad business decisions. I agree that they shouldn't be riding around in corporate jets (the hybrid car road trip was a nice gesture), but I think the outrage is based on some fuzzy math and even worse memory.

The biggest three auto companies want = $14 billion
Bear Stearns merger with JP Morgan chase = $29 billion
American Insurance Group (AIG) = $150 billion
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac = $200 billion
Citigroup = $300 billion
Troubled Asset Relief Plan = $350 billion!

You're right, the government must draw the line somewhere. Companies can't just go around begging for money because they made bad choices. And it's clear the line is drawn somewhere between financial services and manufacturing. So if your company invented exotic financial instruments that have never existed before, so complex and convoluted that their failure has dragged an entire world economy down into the gutter, rest easy. You surely aren't at fault. We'll just humiliate the manufacturers. People who never went to college shouldn't be allowed to own their homes and send their kids to college anyway. Bailout solved.