Bailouts, Bailouts, Bailouts - When will they stop?

@speakeasy (4171)
United States
September 18, 2008 7:18pm CST
Bailing out a major corporation by the the US government (taxpayers) used to be a rare occurance. But, this past year, the number of bailouts has been increasing faster and faster. Pension plans, airlines, banks, mortgage companies, insurance companies, and NOW all THREE of the major US auto companies - General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. That's right, the "Big 3" met with Congress yesterday and are "very optimistic" that they will be included in the upcoming budget and will receive substantial "loan guarantees". Here's a link - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/business/18auto.html?th&emc=th Yes, it will be bad if these companies go under; but, it is bad any time any company goes under. This recent trend is encouraging these companies to be fiscally irresponsible with their (OUR) money. If they mess up, they get "bailed out" again and again (Chrysler). If they act responsibly; their incompetent competition will receive the money instead of them; so, there is no incentive to use good business and management practices. It will be rough for a while for a lot of people if these companies go under; but, it will promote fiscal responsibility in the remaining companies and the companies that fill in the holes they leave behind. What do YOU think? Should we keep bailing them out? Should we only bailout certain industries and let others fail?
1 response
cobrateacher
@cobrateacher (8432)
• United States
19 Sep 08
As far as I can remember, nobody's offered to bail me out! Just like everyone else, I have to work hard and spend carefully. If that had been corporate policy, these bailouts would be unnecessary. Can't we just allow those who do business wisely prosper and those who don't fail? It would be a hard lesson, but it's the way it o be if we're to maintain the US.
speakeasy
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
20 Sep 08
Exactly, the little people are falling by the wayside and no one is bothering to baill us out. No one offered to bail me out when when I had to close my insurance office because the main company decided to "downsize" last year. I lost my job and my business and all of my clients no longer had a local agent (the closest agent was over 90 miles away and in a different state). No one offered to bail out my son's taekwondo school and fitness center and they had to close their doors last month. Now all of the students have no other school in our local area and the instructor is looking for any job he can find in our area. When our Wal-mart relocated and no new stores came in to replace them - a local jewelry store and a local restaurant ended up closing their doors after fighting to stay open for the past 4 months. - NO bailouts there, just a bunch of people out of jobs. And, the other small shops in that shopping center may end up failing to if someone doesn't come in to fill the void. Yes, it is difficult; but, sometimes that is what has to happen. I also found out today that McCain has come out against all of these buyouts too. That is pretty brave for a politician in an election year.
1 person likes this
cobrateacher
@cobrateacher (8432)
• United States
20 Sep 08
Bravo for McCain! Is anyone in Congress listening, or do they just expect a candidate to say whatever it takes to be elected? Those of us whose jobs are expected to be secure aren't doing well, either. I've been a teacher for 41 years, and it's the first time I've seen several of the newer teachers let go, and some programs dropped, so those teachers have no jobs, either. Our benefits are much more costly and there's no hope for raises, so what we take home isn't enough to make ends meet anymore, even if our spending is curtailed. We heard yesterday that our retirement funds have been slashed, so that won't work out as promised, either. I never dreamed I'd be poor at this age, with 8 Master's degrees and a Ph.D! I got the degrees for the love of learning, but I didn't expect that they wouldn't help me financially. My computer printer blew, and I can't imagine how I'll replace it without charging it, which I'd hoped to avoid to keep expenses down. This is really depressing to us all. Politicians still insist we're not in a Depression. Why are they the only ones who aren't broke?