It may be a bit dated now but here’s a bit from my piece from the Politico last week on the auto bailout:

The Drudge Report cheekily labeled the auto execs “beggars on the Hill.” True enough, but remember that the executives had to come to Congress to ask for money because Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had already turned them down flat.

Paulson defended his decision to Congress. He testified that while it would certainly “not be a good thing” to have “one of the auto companies fail, particularly during this period of time,” he would not use one red cent of the $350 billion to $700 billion at his discretion to deal with the problem.

The Treasury boss explained that he felt “a great responsibility to stick with … the purpose” of the bailout that he’s been charged with overseeing — to prop up America’s troubled financial system. “The auto companies fall outside of that purpose,” Paulson said.

For good measure, Paulson advised lawmakers that they should think hard about appropriating additional funds for Detroit. What was needed, he said, was “a solution that leads to long-term viability, sustainable viability”– and they weren’t likely to get there by simply throwing money at the problem. The firms would need to change the way they do things. More money would merely paper over difficult problems of slumping sales and expensive labor. [It] would be like pumping air into a tire with a gaping hole in it [more...]