As I've written before, the auto industry should not receive a bailout.  Handing the auto industry a check for $25 billion does nothing but reward mismanagement and encourage other poorly managed companies to travel to Washington looking for money.  There are many worst case scenarios which mention the jobs and tax revenue that would be lost if the Big 3 ceased to exist.  I find it unlikely that all three companies would fail, although it does appear that GM is in the most precarious position.   If GM did fail, wouldn't Ford and Chrysler pick up additional business?  It would surely have a negative impact on the economy, but the degree of the impact has likely been over-stated.

     There are other solutions I find more palatable than the current bailout which is supported by the Democrats.  First, the companies could file for bankruptcy and reorganize their companies.  This has been dismissed by the industry because they aren't guaranteed to emerge unscathed.  That's true, but there are no guarantees in life, and this problem was primarily created by poor management.  The second option involves using the $25 billion loan the government gave to the auto industry in September to make vehicles more environmentally friendly.  This isn't an ideal situation, but it certainly beats risking another $25 billion, and if you're out of business, you definitely won't be making fuel efficient vehicles.  Unfortunately, the Democrats oppose this measure because environmental groups are against it.  Fuel efficient cars are important, but you can't have fuel efficient cars if car companies don't exist.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/congress_autos