The Big Three Take a Hike to Washington

I am not a fan of U.S. automakers, but I believe a bailout is necessary to not only save millions of jobs and lessen chance of a deeper recession, but to maintain one of the U.S.'s biggest manufacturing industries. Opponents say let them go bankrupt, reorganize and come out leaner and more focused; and point to other successful bankruptcy recoveries, like some airlines. Or say, that if we bailout Detroit, why not Circuit City or DHL. These comparisons are totally falacious. The Big 3 automakers are among the top 10 U.S. corporations, with combined annual revenues of over $400 billion. They make and sell 15 million cars each year, despite their loss of market share. Half of the cars sold in U.S. are still American cars. Their total effect touches millions of American jobs throughout the country - thousands of dealers, suppliers, distributors, retailers and more. Their effect is 20 to 50 times that of a company like Circuit City or an airline. Additionally, since a car purchase is the largest purchase a consumer makes, other than a home, it is looked at differently than buying a TV or plane ticket, in terms of the viability of the company. People will not invest in a $20,000 car from a company that may be gone next year. Issues like maintenance and warranty, and resale value will all be greatly effected, and be a major deterent to buying from a bankrupt company.

Just as important, is the need to save manufacturing in the U.S. At one time, the U.S. was the leading manufacturer in most industries - textiles, food, steel, chemicals, oil & gas, autos, electronics, computers, medical, aerospace, etc. America's dominance in manufacturing in the 20th century, is what made it the most economically powerful country in the world, and established the world's largest middle class. As we loss manufacturing jobs, and become a more service-oriented society, we lose quality, well-paying jobs. This will ultimately impact our economic well-being for most Americans.

We cannot afford, either in the short term or long term, to allow the U.S. automobile industry to fail.

Alan Z. of CA 5:37PM December 04, 2008