We’ll have a Car Czar

As part of their bailout plan for the U.S. auto industry, Congress was going to set up a board of its members and other federal officials to tell the companies what they can and cannot do. That was bad enough. Now Congress is planning to appoint a single individual to oversee the auto industry, a so-called “car czar.” From the Washington Post:

Democratic leaders continued working on details of their proposal this morning, and they made at least one change at the administration’s request. Instead of establishing a board from among six federal agencies to oversee an auto industry restructuring, Democrats agreed to the appointment by President Bush of a single “car czar,” according to a senior Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the measure is not yet final.

Under the proposal, which Democrats hope to bring to a vote this week, the loans would go out on Dec. 15, and the car czar would then develop broad restructuring goals for the auto industry, the aide said. On Feb. 15, after the Bush appointee had been replaced by President-elect Barack Obama, the czar would assess the companies’ progress and could pull back the loans. Long-term restructuring goals would be due from the car companies by March 31.

Friends, is it right for the state to issue fiats to privately-owned companies? Is it good economic policy to run a company according to government commands rather than the private market? I know, this is the price of a government bailout. But this cannot be worth it. This is not just socialism; it’s national socialism.