Where do the bailouts end??? How come the government gets to decide which companies receive bailouts? A bigger question, such as in the case of the automakers, is why do we bail out companies who are obviously so big, bloated, and mediocre that they can’t make it anymore?
I guess capitalism works too well, when you let companies fail, so that other, more efficient companies, with higher demand and better products can step up and fill the void, therefore we must interject the government into it! Problem is, this just makes the mess bigger, the clean up longer, and prolongs inevitable failure!
/soapbox
Edit: A post on the “Give us Liberty” blog started this rant of mine… (there, is that better John? 
)
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Yes, yes, how could I make such an omission? I fixed it!
Much better....thanks for the publicity.
There are two issues facing the American car companies that are driving them to bankruptcy (no pun intended).
One issue is not their fault, the other issue is kind of their fault.
1) Government regulation and taxes - the environmental nuts have placed a huge burden on the companies to meet certain standards that fly in the face of current economically feasible technology.
2) Stupid labor pensions. I’m not sure of the history of the labor unions in the car industry, but when the company let this tie their hands - they were asking for problems. How can you compete when you are paying zillions out in healthcare and retirement pensions to those who produce nothing for you? This is case in point of company leadership looking at the present instead of the future. Why would they think they could afford this?!
If they haven’t, they need to completely cut future benefits for current employees, and retired employees. They simply don’t have the money. They need to break the union, period. They need to punch the government in the nose and tell them to release every regulation placed upon them.
In this case, Congress OWES them the money, because it cost the company BILLIONS to try to meet idiotic cafe standards. In reality, they should do away with crappy legislation in the first place. Sadly, that won’t happen.
If I were GM - I’d strong arm the govt into getting OUT of my business PERMANENTLY, or I’d shut the doors.
Actually, I mostly agree with this. But, as you say, I do hold that at least 50% of the problem lies with the auto companies business practices.
But you are absolutely right the government had no right putting the regulations it has upon the auto manufacturers. The market will take care of these things, and I can tell you that if the government were out of the regulation business on auto companies there would be much more money available for the companies to compete amongst themselves on the efficiency of their vehicles.
When I buy a vehicle the main issue is the efficiency to practicality ratio, and it has nothing to do with environmental concerns and much more to do with my pocket book. So yeah, let the market take care of these things.
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