cheesy poofs's blog

Some light reading material for the weekend.

"That's the essence of the bailout: rich bankers bailing out rich bankers, using the taxpayers' credit card."

The bailout plan being pitched by the big three Detroit automakers includes some interesting concessions.  Union contract re-negotiation, CEO salaries of $1, cutting waste, and shedding brands.  Bankruptcy is described as a bad option by the President and COO of GM because of undesireable effects on consumer confidence.  Senator Chris Dodd brings to our attention the "small" matter of credit default swaps. 

With the plans being proposed, and with the concessions being made, and with the understanding that loans for a corporation in Chapter 11 bankruptcy might not be available, is a bailout that bad of an idea?  Without getting into the blame game for why we are here it looks like a bailout might be the best option available from a bunch of crappy options.