I Suck At Bailing Out The Auto Industry

normally, i don't post anything related to politics. after all, politics is one of those topics that can lead to a heated argument... and regardless of people's entitlement to their own opinions, some people can never agree to disagree.

unfortunately, the news tonight has been all abuzz about the auto bailout death. (and since i have no life, i have been watching the news.) for anyone curious, according to yahoo news, "Congress killed a $14 billion package to aid struggling U.S. automakers Thursday night after a partisan dispute over union wage cuts derailed a last-ditch effort to revive the emergency aid before year's end." apparently, the majority of the republican party is mostly responsible for the auto bailout death.

anyway, the topic of bailing out the auto industry annoys me (probably because i have seen the topic covered so often tonight). normally, i do not agree with conservative republicans, who were mainly responsible for the auto bailout death. in the case of the failing automotive industry, however, i actually agree with their action.

don't get me wrong. should the u.s. automotive industry collapse, millions of jobs will be lost. that is never a good thing, especially with the current economic conditions that the u.s. is facing. i've been on unemployment before (twice) and it's not fun... trust me. so, i can empathize with people who lose their jobs. i would never willingly wish for anyone to lose their job.

that said, i don't think the automotive industry should be bailed out at all. for anyone who knows me, i am a proponent for equality and fairness. just because the automotive industry is huge and the possible repercussions of bankruptcy can be devastating, i don't think the automotive companies should be bailed out. after all, there have been many companies that have gone bankrupt in my lifetime. where was the bailout for those companies? i'm sure the workers at those bankrupt companies could have used a bailout. to me, it only seems fair that if a handful of companies (like the automotive companies) receive a bailout, then all companies... whether big or small should receive a bailout whenever they are on the verge of bankruptcy. it does not make sense to bail out the auto industry if the sole reason is because the automotive industry has a huge unionized workforce in the numbers of thousands. (it turns out that the united auto workers union is also a big contributor and loyal supporter of the democratic party... interesting.) in essence, that act boils down to preferential treatment.

so unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), i suck at bailing out the auto industry. it just does not make sense to me (and i wish it would be off the news because i am tired hearing about it). sadly, the bailout for detroit's auto industry will still likely pass in the weeks to come as the issue is not totally dead yet.