Knollenberg 'Big Plan' Nothing But a Corporate Bailout

Wow, Joe Knollenberg must really be scared. His biggest plan up till now has been a battle against low-flow toilets. Two weeks ago in Rochester he was talking all about "personal responsibility" and wellness plans when it comes to health care plans to help struggling Americans with health care costs. When it comes to helping struggling American families, Joe's attitude is, let them eat cake. When the auto manufacturers have a problem because they didn't react quickly enough to a changing market, Joe wants to run to their rescue with a government tax credit. What a guy.

Apparently when it comes to corporate responsibility, he sings a different tune. Joe introduced a plan to offer tax credits to the auto manufacturers to help out with meeting the new CAFE standards. As if the auto industry couldn't see this coming from a mile away, high energy costs creating a downturn in sales. But what did the industry do, they kept building and designing low-mileage, high profit SUV's and trucks, instead of introducing fuel efficient cars that foreign manufacturers had been selling for years.

Where was Joe when Dana corporation was cutting in half the wages of workers? Did Joe come to their rescue? Of course not. Joe was nowhere to be seen.

We need a comprehensive energy policy in this country that addresses all of the aspects of this problem. We need a trade policy that doesn't have as a side effect cutting American wages to the point where Americans can't afford to buy the vehicles that are manufactured by American car companies.

The Republican economic plan has been a disaster for America and Michigan specifically. Joe's plan is nothing but a band-aid for what has been an amputation of good paying, union jobs that have been sent overseas to low-wage countries exploiting their workers and polluting the air and water around the world.