Posts Tagged ‘auto bailout consumer’

Certainly most of us would agree that the thought of bailing out the auto industry is a bit controversial, right?  After all, if they can’t stand on their own two feet, then why should we pay the price?  Quite frankly, I have mixed feelings on this one.  I wonder when enough is enough.  When will the government stop bailing out private business, and what is it that I’m just not getting?  On the surface, at least to me, it seems simple.  These companies are private businesses.  If they don’t have and can’t put together a sustainable business plan, then, hey, let ‘em sink.

Unfortunately, it isn’t so simple.  Imagine for a moment that the Big Three go under.  It could mean huge impacts on an economy already in trouble.   And it trickles down to auto dealers and other in auto-related businesses.  It means the loss of jobs in communities that are already hit hard and perhaps even trouble getting parts for that Dodge Dakota that you just bought a year ago.   So once again, it’s not so cut-and-dried.

So while it’s difficult to say exactly what the auto bailout might mean to us as consumers, we know that it does mean:

• Preservation of jobs. The significant loss of jobs resulting from any of the Big Three going under at this point would further hurt the economy.

• Support of current products. Those of us who own a vehicle from any one of these three manufacturers will likely need support for our product.  We need the dealerships, the parts suppliers, etc., to maintain our vehicles.

While these might not seem like significant reasons to bail out three very large companies, it’s the timing of it all that makes it so important.  A failure of these companies now would drive the already-harsh economic conditions into a much steeper decline.  Most of us would agree, I think, that further substantial hits to the economy need to be avoided if they can be.