Quote:
Originally Posted by Azure
Bailouts are the ugly result of a government not fixing the problems before they turned into a trillion dollar taxpayer 'problem.'
Did GM go bankrupt because of gross negligence and sheer stupidity? Not being willing to adapt to newer technologies, get with the times, etc, etc? By some accounts, that is exactly what happened.
And regardless of the result of a declared bankruptcy, the taxpayer shouldn't have to foot the bill for a company who can't stay afloat. Especially when numerous other similar 'car' companies didn't have problems THAT big.
But you're right, time will tell. I just don't think until the private sides starts investing their money that the economy will do anything. If I knew how to fix that, well someone would probably be paying me a lot of money.
Just don't think that a trillion dollar taxpayer tab was the right move. An ugly solution to an uglier problem.
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You want the government to stay the hell out of big business, but you also lament the fact that the government didn't place enough controls on the GM bailout. You want the government to create jobs and improve the economy, but don't want them to be a substantial employer. You say you want the government to cut spending, but continue the military missions abroad. You sound like the archetype American conservative who demands services but wants them without cost.
It takes money to offer services. It takes money to build infrastructure. It takes money to make the improvements that make a country worthy of investment. This is where the United States is falling down. The infrastructure is failing and the reinvestment in infrastructure by the private sector is non-existent. This is why the government has to cough up the dough. Unfortunately, they rely on the private sector to implement projects and the mismanagement and profiteering in the American system is at an all time high. The failures of private enterprise to reinvest in the local economy has brought the system to its knees. Innovation is nonexistent and future profits are limited. These are the ramifications of developing a consumer oriented economy.
The trillion dollars pumped into the economy could have been more effective, except the enterprises that received the money turned around and took it as profit, banking it or investing it offshore. The only way the government could have prevented this was by putting in place huge restrictions on how the money could be used, but if they did that you would have complained the government was overstepping its boundaries and it was acting in a socialist manner.
