The Bailout?

On the heels of the $750 Billion lender bailout, there is yet another proposed governmental bailout for the big 3 automakers in the US. It seem that when the Federal Government starts handing large sums of cash to businesses, high powered execs come running from the four corners to lay claim to their portion of the dole.

Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but the way I understand it, the proposed $25 billion for the automakers would be in the form of loans instead of a simple, one time, corporate welfare payment. There are many that claim bailouts equal more bailouts and questions of where it will end are raised. Proponents of the bailout say that it is needed to prevent an economic disaster of global proportions if the automakers go bankrupt.

So am I to understand this right? If we didn't bailout the lenders who made bad loans and bought bad paper, we would have been in much worse shape than we currently are? What if we loan the automakers the money and they can't pay it back? Aren't we in the same situation we were with the mortgage lenders?

Shouldn't a Government loan to the automakers be treated just like any other loan to any other business? The beauty of a capitalistic society is that you realize the rewards and the failures of being in business. If you do it right, you are rewarded. But if you do it wrong, you suffer the consequences. This very principle is why I opposed the lender bailout. Businesses start and fail every day and if you are proactive and stay ahead of the market trends, your business will thrive.

Until about a year ago we had it pretty good in America regarding the cost of fuel. BUT, when gas jumped to $4 a gallon, seemingly overnight, energy dependent Americans felt the slight twinge of panic. Instead of developing, marketing and pushing the largest SUV's like the Excursion and the Hummer, should we have been a little more proactive in decreasing our dependence on foreign oil through the design and development of fuel efficient vehicles? If you haven't seen it yet, check out "Who Killed the Electric Car." Now granted, there is quite a liberal spin in the movie but there are some very interesting points made about choices the automakers made.

What are your thoughts on the bailouts?