I wonder if any these bailouts are going to happen. I have to admit – I am a big believer in less government. I also really hate the idea of handing large amounts of money to people that have proven they can’t read the signs of the times and keep their companies going.
Of course, those are just my ideals. Our country is kind of beyond ideals right now – we are in crisis mode, and we need to do what is necessary to fix the problems – even if it is not ideal. It’s just too late for ideals, unfortunately.
What really surprises me is how flippantly or callously people oppose the bailouts. They say things like we should let the auto makers “fail” or “tank.” Saying that is like saying the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was a firecracker. Do people realize the widespread devastation that would happen if even one auto company would go out of business?
There was a story on the news last night about what would happen in the Dallas Metroplex of GM goes bankrupt. Tens of thousands of people would lose their jobs, resulting in over $2 billion worth of income gone overnight. The resulting loss of tax revenue from that could cause entire cities to shut down. All of that would cause tens of thousands more to lose jobs, and then tens of thousands more, and you would have a massive domino effect until the area would be in a major depression.
I realize that it was okay to be flippant about the economy when it just meant that you couldn’t get the newest, coolest iPod because prices were going up, but we are in a different situation now. Losses like this would can devastation in peoples lives – starvation, suicide, crime, etc. We can’t just go back to “living off the land” as some have suggested we need to do – there are just too many people on the planet to do that. Do you know who much space one person needs to live off the land? More than most city apartment buildings have… just for one person.
And let’s not forget the fact that if GM tanks, they will stop manufacturing parts. So, once you lose your job and have to drive to go to an interview and something breaks in your vehicle – a replacement part might just not exist anymore. So, no job or way to get to a job interview.
the problem with the bailouts is that the government just doesn’t want to bite the hand that bribes them. They need to keep the people working but get rid of the top level management in many cases – but that would mean firing the people that are keeping them comfortable with lobby money. That is the basic reason they are taking their time on deciding on these.
Letting a car company tank is only really going to hurt the hard working people at the bottom. There is no way ten thousand people will be able to find jobs next month in DFW if GM goes away. I’m not sure about a bailout, but we shouldn’t let hard working people suffer because idiot CEOs don’t know what they are doing.
THe problem I have is, its those car company’s fault they are in this position. Companies like Honda and Toyota, who have factories in the U.S., are doing fine. Not just fine…they are actually hiring. Why? For one, they make a better car. But manly because they are MUCH more reasonable on what they pay employees.
Like you said, I’m not a big fan of more government involvement. Not only that, but in the past I would argue that when government has gotten involved, they may have helped the problem for the moment, but made things worse in the long run. A more recent example of this is the housing market and problem with people not being able to afford their mortgage payment. This stemmed from the changes Clinton made.
Yes, it would be HORRIBLE for all those people to lose their jobs right now. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone (been there, still have a few t-shirts). But I don’t believe government getting involved is the answer. I’m a capitalist by nature, and belive our capitalist system will work itself out.
I don’t pretend to have the answers. It’s easy for me (or anyone else) to sit here and say “we shouldn’t do it this way”, when we don’t have a suggestion for a solution. I always tell my staff, if you’re coming to me with a problem, you better have an idea for a solution; otherwise you’re just a complainer. I guess i’m in that same boat. 🙂
There was another news story about how union workers get like 85% of their pay for 4 years if they get laid off – so that news story forecasting doom and gloom for the Metroplex was probably off. As much as I like the idea of less government, it really is just an arbitrary line drawn somewhere that “this is too much” and “that is too little.” There is always some level of government involvement in everything, no matter how conservative you are. If not – you have anarchy as a political belief. So the question is – where is the line on this one going to be wrong? Is bankruptcy a bad thing – or will it cause the auto industry to re-organize and come back stronger? We’ll never know until it happens… but if we choose wrongly, and solely based on political beliefs and not on what is actually the best course of action – we don’t get a do over.
See, here’s the thing….if America would just let ME decide where the line was drawn, things would work out just right.
Just kidding.