Reply #4: So, can I propose something? [View All]

[SecularisX]

Now, I may get down and dirty and run some numbers on this over the next couple of days (it is sort of my job after all), but the $200bn cost that I've heard thrown around if we let Detroit go through bankruptcy seems like a red herring to me.

I think that $200bn could easily be recouped in 5-10 years if we let them fail and allowed a lean, competitive auto industry to rise from the ashes of the (you have to admit) failed businesses that currently exist. A well-managed bankruptcy would help a great deal.

Look, I know a fair amount about these companies and a bit more about finance. I truly believe that they need on the order of $150bn just to weather the current economic storm before they return to their floundering ways in an improving economic climate. Why not spend that $150bn helping the workers stay afloat while letting the industry reorganize and re-energize?

We can do this right if folks recognize that we need radical change in the auto industry, and that now is as good a time as any if the effort is supported by smart policy decisions.

Disclaimer: I am not a troll, a thug, or a fat cat. I am just a guy who voted for Obama and watches these companies closely on a daily basis for a living.