Extracts from The Independent, UK, 12 November 2008 "An ideological battle has erupted between George Bush and Barack Obama, with the outgoing President baulking at proposals to prop up General Motors, once the world's largest car maker, which could go bust by Christmas".
"According to one account of their Oval Office discussions, Mr Obama asked Mr Bush to use some of the billions of dollars in the financial bailout package to prop up the car industry. Economists are already warning that if GM goes broke it could bring down the rest of the economy and tip the world into a much-feared depression".
"As Mr Bush sees it, he has one last opportunity to secure a legacy as a champion of free trade, and he reportedly tied the Democrat's request for billions of taxpayer dollars for the failing car industry to a controversial trade deal with Colombia".
"Mr Obama has already voted to block the Colombia deal in the Senate because of widespread human rights abuses against union workers".
"Last week, Mr Obama called the car sector "the backbone of American manufacturing". The three big makers, GM, Ford and Chrysler, have operations across America and if they collapse, it would devastate the economy. The estimates are that three million jobs would be lost, counting the car-workers, their suppliers and even the hot-dog sellers outside the factories".
"Even Mr Obama's generosity towards the car companies has its limits. As part of his energy and environmental plans being drafted with the help of Al Gore, he wants to ensure taxpayers' money is spent wisely in a way that helps reduce dependence on imported oil and fights climate change. He asked Mr Bush to quickly release $25bn which has already been agreed to help companies retool to make more fuel-efficient cars. Mr Gore is advising that "we should help America's automotive industry to convert "quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run off renewable energy that will be available".
"According to one account of their Oval Office discussions, Mr Obama asked Mr Bush to use some of the billions of dollars in the financial bailout package to prop up the car industry. Economists are already warning that if GM goes broke it could bring down the rest of the economy and tip the world into a much-feared depression".
"As Mr Bush sees it, he has one last opportunity to secure a legacy as a champion of free trade, and he reportedly tied the Democrat's request for billions of taxpayer dollars for the failing car industry to a controversial trade deal with Colombia".
"Mr Obama has already voted to block the Colombia deal in the Senate because of widespread human rights abuses against union workers".
"Last week, Mr Obama called the car sector "the backbone of American manufacturing". The three big makers, GM, Ford and Chrysler, have operations across America and if they collapse, it would devastate the economy. The estimates are that three million jobs would be lost, counting the car-workers, their suppliers and even the hot-dog sellers outside the factories".
"Even Mr Obama's generosity towards the car companies has its limits. As part of his energy and environmental plans being drafted with the help of Al Gore, he wants to ensure taxpayers' money is spent wisely in a way that helps reduce dependence on imported oil and fights climate change. He asked Mr Bush to quickly release $25bn which has already been agreed to help companies retool to make more fuel-efficient cars. Mr Gore is advising that "we should help America's automotive industry to convert "quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run off renewable energy that will be available".
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