Small Business Boomers

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 …read more

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In the midst of all these bailouts – investment banks, insurance companies, and possibly automakers – I ran across this quote from Lee Iacocca:
There ain’t no free lunches in this country. And don’t go spending your whole life commiserating that you got raw deals. You’ve got to say, ‘I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough I can have it.’
Wait a minute!  Isn’t Lee Iacocca the same guy who engineered the  “bailout” of Chrysler back in 1979?  So, Lee, have you forgotten that you received the proverbial “free lunch”?  Or, did you?
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Despite the threats of tight credit, and concerns about the effect of the failure of the ‘bailout’ on “Main Street,” not everyone is worried.  I spoke with two people today who received startup loans.  One got a loan for a professional practice with 10 percent down and no co-signer.  The second got an SBA loan (I thought the SBA money was not available); the second person is a woman, if that makes any difference.
On the other hand, a friend who works for a large national bank said they are pulling in lines of credit (cutting them off, in other words) …read more

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Lawmakers just announced the settlement of the $700 billion financial bailout, after much discussion. Whew! I for one am relieved.
The bailout does include limits on pay of executives. Most of us would agree with that, except for those execs, that it. And the legislation contains measures to help prevent home foreclosures.
Now all we have to do is keep consumer confidence up, which won’t be easy. I spent some time reviewing my 401(k)s and IRAs, and they are, of course, down. But I’m biding my time. I suggest you do …read more

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Warren Buffett has agreed to invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs, to show his support for the bailout and his confidence in Congress’s ability to come up with a bailout plan. 
If you read this blog, you know how I admire Warren Buffett.  I hope his confidence in Congress is not misplaced.  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has told Congress that the U.S. economy is faltering; I’m sure he also wants this bailout to happen. 
Instead, Congress is playing its usual games – pork-barrel, gimme-gimme, whine, whine.  If they want to help people pay their mortgages, the way to do it is to get the …read more

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