The Bailout

Much has been said and written on the various government bailouts of banks, AIG, and the proposed bailout of the Big Three automakers. I would just simply like to comment on one basic thing--sensible business practice.

In your first business class, what do you learn? That a natural economy has ups and downs. Times when everything is plenty and times when life is tough. In fact, we could dial this down to common sense and simply say that you have to plan for the future.

Ford, GM, and Chrysler clearly did not plan properly for the future, or they might not be in the pickle they are in. It must be difficult to run a multi-billion dollar business--but you command a multi-million dollar salary, too. You have to realize that demand for your product is definitely not going to remain consistent. Tastes change, and needs change. The United States still drives large vehicles, but the demand has shifted to smaller and more fuel efficent cars.

How did the Big Three miss this? Who knows? But the fact is that they did. Should we, the taxpayer, have to bail them out for their mistake? And the fact, is, it was a mistake--nothing more and nothing less. Consider this, over 80% of small businesses fail within the first ten years--due to business practices or ideas that clearly did not work. Should we therefore bail them out too?

The frequent argument is that the Big Three support an industry that utilizes a massive amount of our nation's workforce. If the Big Three go away, what will happen to those jobs. Some will be lost, but the industry will eventually restructure itself into a smarter entity. The people of the United States are not dumb. We can adapt. And it will be tough. I suppose I can say this impassively, seeing as it is unlikely I will be directly affected. But I don't like the idea of paying for these companies for failure.