[Hoot Gibson]

As I said, the protesters have been very selective in their selection of targets for outrage over bailouts. Barack Obama has supported every bank bailout, both as a US Senator and as president. The unions have benefited greatly from the GM and Chrysler bailouts, yet the protesters support Obama and are attacking capitalism, instead of Obama's brand of socialism that increases government's stranglehold on businesses and pours taxpayer money into private companies, while rewarding unions monetarily for their rock solid political support.

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Which Side Are You On?

How the UAW's new ownership stake in GM and Chrysler will defang the union.

It's been a long time since American devotees of Marx (Karl, not Groucho) have had much to cheer about. But with the bankruptcy filings of General Motors and Chrysler, and the transfer of stock ownership from the firms' long-suffering shareholders to the government and unions, communists of the world can rejoice. The workers are now, finally, significant owners of the means of production. The United Auto Workers control about 65 percent of Chrysler and 17.5 percent of General Motors.

For many ardent capitalists, this state of affairs represents a kind of Armageddon. These people didn't rage about the somnolent boards, the incompetent management, the failed economic policies, and the massive destruction of shareholder wealth. No, what really angers folks like Jack Welch—his grumpiness was on display at a recent panel and during an unintentionally hilarious CNBC gabfest on the future of capitalism—is the prospect of an unholy alliance of government bureaucrats and union bosses controlling the fate of a few failed companies.

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Autoworkers See Help From $10 Billion Fund in U.S. Health Plan

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Legislation overhauling U.S. health care includes $10 billion to pay some of the most expensive medical costs for millions of autoworkers, steelworkers, schoolteachers and other early retirees with coverage.

The provision, embedded in legislation passed in July by House and Senate committees, may help offset health-care concessions made earlier this year by the United Auto Workers as part of a government rescue of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC and related cost-cutting at Ford Motor Co.

The UAW cited the provision in an e-mail this week urging its members to support a health-care overhaul, President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.

Company, municipal and union-sponsored plans that meet eligibility would be reimbursed for 80 percent of the health costs from $15,000 to $90,000 for early retirees ages 55 to 64, according to the legislative proposal.

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