Should We Bail Out GM, Chrysler, Ford?
This weekend, a couple of questions for you. Today, a pro-and-con about the possible bailout of the top U.S. automakers. Tomorrow, a discussion of flu vaccines and why people don’t get them.
First, the auto maker bailout:
Two articles in Harvard Business Publishing debated the issue of whether GM/Chryslter/Ford should be bailed out.
David Silverman says we should bail out GM/Chrysler/Ford and not worry about “survival of the fittest.” In other words, he says, if you see a dog get hit by a truck, you don’t say, “tough,” you help the dog. If a company is in trouble, you help first, and ask questions later. That might work for a dog that didn’t know what hit him, but these big guys knew or should have known that the crash was coming.
On the other side, Umair Haque says we should not bail out GM/Chrysler/Ford. Haque says the automakers have been making critical mistakes playing by old (20th century) rules of business. No bailout, he says, unless it forces the car makers to play by new 21st century rules.
It sounds to me like they are both right. Whatever we think of “fat cat” corporate executives profiting from bailouts, we don’t have any choice. If our economy is to avoid complete collapse, we must bailout GM/Chrysler/Ford. If you don’t think the auto industry is the lynch pin of our economy, sit back a minute and consider all the industries that are directly and directly tied to the production of new cars and travel.
That doesn’t mean Congress can’t impose some new rules on the automakers. But will they? Do they “get” that we’re in a new age? I doubt it. Particularly a lame duck Congress, which just wants to get away for the holidays. Good luck getting them to do anything other than a quick fix.
What do you think? Should we bail out the U.S. automakers? Why or why not?
2 Comments
have yall ever think about how many more workers would lose their jobs if we don’t bailout these companies? less workers, unemployment rates will continue to go up. less workers, more people on government welfare, less people spending, etc…
Think about it, they’ve been here for almost 100 years without bothering us with bailouts. These enterprises gave so much to our economy, created jobs for so many people, and represented US cars. Now we say F**K off to them while we hand billions of dollars to banks? How can we neglect to care for companies who have gone beyond “just a business” to an enterprise that represents the US. Do we really want to see the corporations of the US collapse just so we can save some money? Do we want toyota and honda cars to dominate the streets of LA or New York? Or does this reflect the unforgiving and selfish nature of us americans.