To Bail Out, or Not To Bail Out ... that is the question
Hamlet's question of deep philosophical import is probably nothing compared to what the country is going to be facing now. The bail out that Congress passed just before they broke for the election recess has opened a floodgate. And now people like American Express are jumping on the bandwagon and asking for government money.
You know how when you're a kid and you ask your parents for money (think like 9 years old)? You think there's like this money tree and they can just give it to you, and that money has no real value for you, it's just a means to an end. It's the means with which to see the movie or buy the CD or the buggle gum or whatever. You don't consider that it's August in Texas and the electric bill is through the roof and that extra $20 might actually hurt your parents - and your - bottom line. You see free money, and you want a piece of it.
This is how I think people and corporations look at ma and pa government. They hand out money generously and it's gotten to the point that all available hands are outstretched trying to get their piece of it.
Government bail outs are really nothing new. The feds have subsidized the airline industry since 9/11 (you should read that article, it's from October 2001) and amtrak for ... ever.
But with the $700B that was released in October, now everyone from states to automakers to credit card companies wants a piece of the pie. And all because their profits aren't what they once were.
Frankly, there is no rule that says profits always have to be up. In fact - and this is for you car and plane people - if you have a bad business model that's been running your company into the ground, you deserve to file for bankruptcy. Charging people outrageous prices for low quality services is not the way to do business.
But here is my problem. The automakers ... if GM goes under that's 2.5M jobs. That's 2,500,000 people that will be out of work, in an industry that Americans have largely outsourced to the Asian penninsula. So if you can imagine, it will pretty impossible for those 2.5M to find new jobs.
We stand at the precipice of a great shift in this country. Detroit is going to have to find a new way to do business, they can't create the same old standard stuff and expect Americans to buy it just because they are who they are.
I don't know the answer to this ... but I know that in an economy were jobs are slumping, consumer confidence is down, and people are more worried than ever about making ends meet, there is no way the tax payer can continue to bail anyone out. Can you imagine this same economy with a tax increase? You'll have less money to buy groceries, to pay the mortgage, to keep the electricity on. If they continue handing out money this way ... tax increases are next. Because you know in times when people cut back and cut back ... the only thing that does not get cut is the government.
You know how when you're a kid and you ask your parents for money (think like 9 years old)? You think there's like this money tree and they can just give it to you, and that money has no real value for you, it's just a means to an end. It's the means with which to see the movie or buy the CD or the buggle gum or whatever. You don't consider that it's August in Texas and the electric bill is through the roof and that extra $20 might actually hurt your parents - and your - bottom line. You see free money, and you want a piece of it.
This is how I think people and corporations look at ma and pa government. They hand out money generously and it's gotten to the point that all available hands are outstretched trying to get their piece of it.
Government bail outs are really nothing new. The feds have subsidized the airline industry since 9/11 (you should read that article, it's from October 2001) and amtrak for ... ever.
But with the $700B that was released in October, now everyone from states to automakers to credit card companies wants a piece of the pie. And all because their profits aren't what they once were.
Frankly, there is no rule that says profits always have to be up. In fact - and this is for you car and plane people - if you have a bad business model that's been running your company into the ground, you deserve to file for bankruptcy. Charging people outrageous prices for low quality services is not the way to do business.
But here is my problem. The automakers ... if GM goes under that's 2.5M jobs. That's 2,500,000 people that will be out of work, in an industry that Americans have largely outsourced to the Asian penninsula. So if you can imagine, it will pretty impossible for those 2.5M to find new jobs.
We stand at the precipice of a great shift in this country. Detroit is going to have to find a new way to do business, they can't create the same old standard stuff and expect Americans to buy it just because they are who they are.
I don't know the answer to this ... but I know that in an economy were jobs are slumping, consumer confidence is down, and people are more worried than ever about making ends meet, there is no way the tax payer can continue to bail anyone out. Can you imagine this same economy with a tax increase? You'll have less money to buy groceries, to pay the mortgage, to keep the electricity on. If they continue handing out money this way ... tax increases are next. Because you know in times when people cut back and cut back ... the only thing that does not get cut is the government.
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