Carriage Manufacturers to Request Part of $700K Bailout
Horse related industries fight for survival against Henry Ford's Model T automobile. Request a portion of $700K bailout money. by The Biss
(libertarian)
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Ashland County, WI -- Citing rising competition from the new Model T horseless carriage, carriage and wagon manufacturer and Wisconsin state senator AW Sanborn has petitioned Congress for an appropriation of the $700 thousand bailout.
Hardline opponents of the wagon bailout brand the horse-powered transportation industry as a "relic of a former time."
"Hank Ford is doing a major disservice to the transportation industry," said Sen. Sanborn in a press conference from his Ashland county estate. "Think of the repercussions from the failure of our business. This will not just affect buggy manufacturers like myself, but an entire support industry."
Lincoln McSweeney of the Ashland Co. Farrier's Union agrees. "Think of all the people that will be out of work if this newfangled Tin Lizzy catches on. Farriers are reliant on horses for our business. So are teamsters, blacksmiths, wainwrights, and tack makers. If you're out plowing a field and need a new terret, good luck finding it if we're out of business!"
"Horses are an integrated part of our economy," counters Sen. Sanborn, "and horses come in other colors than black."
US Senator Julius C. Burrows (R-Michigan) said it would be a mistake to use any of the rescue money to prop up the carriage makers because a bailout would only postpone the industry's demise.
"Companies fail everyday and others take their place. I think this is a dirt road we should not go down," said Burrows. "They're not building the right products," he said. "They've got good workers but I don't believe they've got good management. They don't innovate. They're a 'behemoth' in a sense."
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Hey I own a candle manufacturing company. This Edison guy is putting me out of business with his non-wax no-wick electricity bulb thingy. Thousands of people in my factories will lose their jobs. The candles are part of our vital economy. I also need part of that bailout money......
