Big Three Auto Makers Need Bankruptcy Court

Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts opposes a bailout of the big three automobile makers. He believes bankruptcy may be the only path to solvency for the Big Three automakers.
http//www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Romney_detroit_bankrupt/2008/11/19/152984.html?s=al&promo_code=719A-1

On the radio today, I heard Neal Boortz say that yesterday the top executives of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler flew to Washington, DC to testify in front of Congress. Neal pointed out that each of those executives flew to Washington in a private airplane, none of them flew commercial.

My liberal daughter told me those executives need the bailout to maintain their standard of living. She said those executives are not the type to fly commercial, especially in the rear of a wide body aircraft.

"Detroit is in nose dive, no doubt about that. So is a $50 billion government bailout the answer? President-elect Barack Obama thinks so, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi points in the same direction with her call for extending 'emergency and limited financial assistance' under the $700 billion bailout plan enacted last month. Democrats clearly want something big and something soon for the Big Three. We agree that the automakers can't go on much longer burning cash and piling up an Everest of debt. They're close to the breaking point. But there's a system in place for dealing with crises such as this, even at the scale of massive corporations. It's called bankruptcy, and it should not be written off as unthinkable. Filing for Chapter 11 protection under bankruptcy law is the normal way a company stays in business when facing an unmanageable financial situation. It keeps creditors at bay while the company reorganizes under court supervision and settles its debts. In recent years it has served as a refuge for major airlines (Delta and United) which, you may notice, continued to fly while in Chapter 11 and, post-bankruptcy, fly today. Bankruptcy protection also frees companies from union contracts. Could this be why it seems to have been taken off the table as an option, at least among Democrats? We can only surmise, but it's clear that a bankruptcy process would be rough going for the United Auto Workers (UAW)." --Investor's Business Daily

Soap Box Ravings would like to point out that the entire automobile industry in this country does not require bankruptcy. However, the old guard of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler do. I agree with Gov. Romney and Investor's Business Daily, these companies need to go through bankruptcy court and re-establish themselves. I also agree with my liberal daughter that the executives involved and the UAW workers need the bailout money to maintain their standard of living, but some money is better than no money.

Soap Box Ravings believes neither the executives nor the UAW want to make changes, they just want money.

Part of the problem are the company business plans and part of the problem are the United Auto Workers. I don't intend to establish blame, it is fact. If you are not making money enough to cover your expenses bankruptcy is the solution.

Soap Box Ravings believes if the our country helps enough countries, states, banks and businesses.......the country itself will go bankrupt sooner or later.