Nov 10 2008
Should the U.S. Government Save the Big Three?
By now, we’re all getting sick of bail-outs. I feel pretty safe in saying that. Even after shoveling billions into Wall Street and running the national debt up above a trillion dollars, the economy is still in the toilet and getting worse by the minute.
And I don’t have to tell you that nobody is bailing me out.
Now, less than a month after getting $25 billion from the federal government, GM, Chrysler, and Ford are hat-in-hand already asking for billions more. GM predicts it will be completely out of cash by year’s end without more federal money, Chrysler is worse off than GM, and Ford isn’t too far behind. All are laying off thousands of employees each month. Now there is talk of suspending research and development of new, more fuel-efficient and sales-worthy vehicles for want of funds–the same R & D that was the main hope for an eventual revival.
What next?
I think in the short term the government has to keep these three afloat, but once Obama is inaugurated in January it’s time to take a hard look at what should come next. When will these companies be held accountable for their mismanagement and bad decisions? And by the way, where is the transparency for the Wall Street bailout that was such a big deal back when Congree was voting on it? Where is that money going?
I’m going to try to find out.
In the meantime, the situation continues to deteriorate.
The problem with bailing out Detroit is the same as the problem with bailing out Wall Street, namely, when does this end? Where do we draw the line? Do we wait until the U.S. itself needs a bailout? (Not far off, from the look of things.)
And yet, if we let the Big Three fail, there go most of the remaining jobs in the industrial Midwest right down the tubes, jobs that in better times singlehandedly created the American middle class.
Once he dust settles, I’d like to see some start-up automakers get support. Companies that have the technology to produce alternative energy vehicles abound and with some federal backing could create lots of new jobs. I’m tired of huge corporations whining about their problems while I stock up on rice and beans.
Ford: Get a better idea and get it fast, or get lost.
