Thumbing its nose at the American people, who have opposed a bailout for automakers by a two-to-one margin in public opinion polls, the Bush Administration is pushing a $17.4 billion bailout for automakers General Motors and Chrysler, even though a similar bailout plan was rejected by the Senate earlier this month, on the ground that it would do nothing to fix what ails the auto industry.

Many of the beneficiaries of the bailout are well-to-do special interest groups who have been exploiting American consumers for years but would lose…

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The Bush Administration is planning to use money from the $700 billion financial system bailout for an auto industry bailout.  To do that, it is seizing on the fact that the bailout statute contains a very broad definition of “financial institution,” which the Administration claims includes virtually any institution, financial or not.  The bailout statute defines “financial institutions” eligible for the bailout as  ”any institution, including, but not limited to, any bank, savings association, credit union, security broker or dealer, or insurance company.”   Never…

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