Just Say No

You may remember that Nancy Reagan fought against drug consumption by urging Americans to "just say no." Now we need Mrs. Reagan again because some poorly run corporations are asking for taxpayer bailouts and loans. They want charity from hardworking Americans who are getting pounded in a chaotic economy primarily caused by irresponsible businesspeople.

The situation is totally out of control. Leaders of the three major American car companies showed up on Capitol Hill this week stating that if billions in government loans were not forthcoming, they would go bankrupt. And how did many of these executives get to Washington from Detroit? By private jet, of course.

Paging Imelda Marcos.

The reason the car companies are in such bad shape is that they cannot compete with Toyota and other foreign automakers. Gov. Mitt Romney, whose father ran American Motors Corp., says that union contractual obligations add about $2,000 to each American car above what a corresponding Toyota would cost. Romney says that if the unions don't renegotiate, U.S. auto companies will never be able to compete in the global market no matter how much money they borrow.

So, for our dazed senators and representatives the equation should be: If the unions won't bend, we won't lend.

But the head of the House Financial Services Committee, the brilliant Barney Frank, disagrees with Romney and calls his analysis "union bashing." Frank, who said last July that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were "in good shape going forward," submits that the autoworkers union should be applauded for promoting "income equality."

Swell, Barney, but here's the rub: If the company goes out of business there will be no income at all.

Am I getting through here, congressman? I often wish Barney Fife, not Barney Frank, headed the House Finance Committee.

But back to we the people, who are far more sensible than the ideologues in Congress. There is no question that an apathetic federal government allowed risky mortgage lending and the subsequent irresponsible sales of bad paper to financial institutions like the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers. The fed knew this was going on and did nothing.

So the economy collapsed and people stopped buying stuff like cars. With little money in reserve because so much cash goes to union pensions and disabilities, the auto companies may collapse as well.

Meanwhile, you and I, who work hard, pay our bills and had nothing to do with any of this, watch our investments get hammered and the job pool shrink.

Both political parties are at fault, and we should tell them there will be no loans to private industry that uses private jets. The scam stops here.

Veteran TV news anchor Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" and author of the book "Who's Looking Out For You?" To find out more about Bill O'Reilly, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com. This column originates on the Web site www.billoreilly.com.

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