It's not just the American Big 3 automakers who are looking to their government for loans in this economic climate. Volkswagen seems to ponying up to Germany's bank bailout too.
So, is it okay to loan billions of dollars to banks and financial institutions with lousy management and to spend $100 billion in Iraqi reconstruction with lousy management, but it's not okay to loan money to 3 companies who constitute actual domestic industrial output and represent, by their measures at least, 10% of employment?
I'm not sure it should happen, and I'm probably biased because I actually like GM, but once you've opened the bailout can, it's hard to get the worms back inside.
1 comment:
No matter how much money the US government gives the US car company CEOs, those CEOs still will take the short sighted road to short term profit. I'm looking forward to a real sustainable plug-in hybrid and/or electric car from Honda and Toyota. The CEOs of those companies really understand how what cars to build. The GM senior management laughed at Toyota when they built the Prius and when Toyota SOLD it rather than lease it like the failed EV1 from GM. Now look at which car is still around... the EV1 is dead and the Prius continues to expand. That's corporate leadership. Let's see if the GM Volt is produced at any volume or price point that makes sense, I doubt the US CEOs will pull the Volt off, they've consistently shown they can't innovate or produce a car that the American people will vote for with their dollars unless the government forces the money from people's paychecks into GM coffers.
Post a Comment