The Big 3 Bailout: Why, or Why Not?

The Shark hits a homer today.

Which leads to the question: why is ANYONE in DC considering a "bailout"?

Two reasons (aside from the purely political--that is, the Michigan voters....)

1) Nobody in DC understands actual manufacturing management. Nobody. They think this is merely a matter of "green cars" (and/or Union contracts.) They are wrong. The Big3 are horribly mis-managed from top to bottom and cannot be "rescued."

(Need a hint about that? You haven't heard Jack Welch compliment the management practices of Detroit, have you?)

2) At the same time, everybody in DC wants to control the outcome. (See "green cars" above). They can't. The Big3 is muscle-bound; they cannot turn on a dime to take advantage of changes in technology. Adding a DC-based "car czar" or Congressional Committee to the management pile is ineffably, horribly, inconceivably stupid.

(This applies to those who want to break the UAW as much as it does to the "GoodThink" green-car crowds. It ain't black-and-white for either group.)

BK the poor bastards. Let the VC's and hedgers take over the businesses.

And don't worry about getting parts for your Chevy. They will be available...