Quickdraw

What Do We Need In 2009? More Failure

Unlike in the case of terminally ill humans, there exist no laws to prevent the euthanization of businesses ...

Pull the plug! Most Americans would prefer to see the Big 3 survive and become healthy once again ... unless that means we all must ante-up from our own pockets an absurdly large sum, to continue life support. It is a commonly accepted premise throughout many fields, that getting rid of the bottom performers promotes a healthier big picture. It is certainly true in the business world.

Few people would knowingly chose to buy the less effective drug, the poorer investment choice, inferior products, or the runt-of-the-litter ... especially not when they are priced at or above better options.

I see the future of the Big 3 resembling this: The phoenix that will rise from the ashes of their galactic short-sightedness and failure will be a better business model. Let them die ... in a few months, perhaps a year or so, the economy will resurrect itself and be stronger for the experience. If we continue feeding this monolithic failure, and throwing good money after the bad, then our grandchildren will still be paying for the priviledge of poorer choices regarding their vehicle purchase options.

Let's Hope the Auto Bailout Has Failed for Good

Billions for the financial institutions that practiced questionable lending ...

Billions for the automakers who build products that a significant percentage of the potential market chooses not to buy ...

For the rest of the country, the questions are mounting: What if we don't own a home, or a new car? Tell us again, why we are being asked to prop up the house of cards? Our grandchildren will still be paying for these so-called 'bailouts', which everyone will soon realize bought us nothing. A trillion dollars, to finish right where we started.

If the cards fall, and the people who collectively made the mistakes that led us here are out of the way, and the immediate future for our economy is indeed looking grim. Retailers will sell less. Services will be suspended. A galactic correction occurs in our capitalistic world, but at least we still have that capitalism. After the ashes of the mess that is our current model for doing these businesses cools, then new models will quickly rise that are smarter and more relevant. A year or three of contraction will be followed by a new order ... and most of those responsible for the bad business will be gone. From the bankers who looked the other way when home loan applicants misrepresented their incomes, the business leaders who somehow believe that 2 plus 2 equals 22, to the UAW members who think they are 'entitled' to their jobs at a time when the products they build clearly are not selling; within a short few years our country would be stronger and better after a resurrection of a better business culture. Our country is far different from the USA of the 1930's. We would rebound and emerge better and stronger (just like we did in the 1940's).

Or, should we reward failure and ask present and future generations to pay for it?

Maybe we should give the billions to the banks and the automakers who are NOT struggling. They didn't paint themselves into corners or build boats in their basements. They would become stronger and more dominant, creating jobs and supplying services that the majority of Americans already find more desireable compared to those of the losers who need the bailouts. If we continue to throw good money after the bad, most of us won't be able to afford to go to a bank, nor buy a new car.