MSNBC "The Ed Show" Interview - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "THE ED SHOW" INTERVIEW WITH REP. GARY PETERS (D-MI)

INTERVIEWER: ED SCHULTZ

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MR. SCHULTZ: Our economy is about to take a big hit. There's news today that 2,000 GM and Chrysler dealerships are being forced to close. That could mean a loss of thousands of jobs and hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to the Treasury. Folks, there is a double standard here tonight. General Motors has got a gun to their head because they have to meet this deadline on June 1st. In the meantime, AIG is asking for, let's see, three years, five years, and more money to get their act together.

Joining me now is Congressman Gary Peters of Michigan.

What a double standard here, Congressman. What do you have to say to the White House about this tonight?

REP. PETERS: Well, certainly we have seen a double standard, especially in the past with AIG. As you know, last year the previous administration threw billions of dollars at the financial industry without the kind of restructuring in the demands that we've seen in Detroit and for our auto manufacturers.

And, you know, in my area in Michigan, Oakland County, we're all about accountability. But you have not seen that with financial institutions, particularly last year, when billions and billions of dollars was sent. And right now, as you mentioned, we've got dealers closing. It's going to be jobs lost all over the country. And now this auto crisis is not just about the Midwest. It's about every community, all across the United States.

MR. SCHULTZ: Is the president -- I've got to ask the question -- is the president being fair to the automobile industry and really giving them a chance to succeed here?

REP. PETERS: Well, the president has stepped up and has put in money. We've got billions of dollars for Chrysler in order to get them to move forward.

MR. SCHULTZ: But Congressman, you know it's a fraction of what Wall Street has gotten.

REP. PETERS: Oh, absolutely.

MR. SCHULTZ: We're talking about a double standard here. We're talking about Wall Street getting what they ask for, AIG asking for more time and money, and now here come the wage-earners of America, who say it's not their fault. It's been poor management, poor design and (the lot ?), and they're not getting help. They've got a deadline. Wall Street doesn't have a deadline.

REP. PETERS: Yeah, that's right, a deadline. And I'll you what's really frustrating to me, Ed -- we talked about this earlier -- is the fact that GM has announced that they're going to be laying off 21,000 people across the country, 21,000 workers. And yet they're going to maintain their operations in Mexico, in Korea, in China, importing cars to China.

MR. SCHULTZ: Well --

REP. PETERS: You know, the American taxpayers invested in our auto companies to protect American jobs, American plants. And we're not seeing the sacrifice with this overseas production. I'm very fearful, as the economy recovers and people start buying cars again, we're going to be getting imports from those companies because we've lost all these jobs here in America. We simply can't tolerate that.

MR. SCHULTZ: So, viewers of "The Ed Show," are we making this connection? We've dished out money to save jobs. GM has gone over to China to make them, and they're going to have an influx of 50,000 cars between now and 2014. What's wrong with this picture?

REP. PETERS: Yeah, well, it is terribly wrong. There is absolutely no question, we've got to force certainly GM to come to the table and understand that they can build -- you know, I'm frustrated. GM says they can't build small cars here. We know that Ford Motor just announced they're building the Ford Focus, an all-electric vehicle, in Michigan, in an older plant. Fiat's coming in to build small cars with Chrysler. GM needs to do the same thing. We cannot tolerate these jobs going away, because it's not just those 21,000 jobs.

MR. SCHULTZ: No, it's not.

REP. PETERS: It's all of the auto suppliers, the beauty parlors, the restaurants, everybody.

MR. SCHULTZ: It's a ripple effect that I don't know if this country is ready for.

Congressman, thanks so much for your time tonight.

REP. PETERS: Thank you, Ed.

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