"I been working ever since, every week down at the Ford plant but now they say they're shutting down"

So by now we have all heard that Congress is “considering” a bailout of the automobile industry. By “considering” I mean that they absolutely, without a doubt are going to do it. This is not only a bad idea, it is misappropriation of their authority. We operate under the idea, or at least the guise, of a free market economy. The American automobile industry is a FOR PROFIT industry. These are publicly owned and privately operated companies whose sole purpose is to generate a profit for their shareholders. When For Profit companies fail to make a profit, they fold and go out of business. This creates a vacuum that is either filled by their competitors or absorbed by replacement products or services. It is not now, nor has it ever been, the right, the role, or the responsibility of the United States government to prop up a failing company or industry. To do so compromises the free market system. If the automakers of this country can not find a way to make cars that is profitable and helps them sustain their business model, then they should go out of business. Yes, this would some people their jobs. Yes, this would cause the economy to worsen in the short term. And yes, there would even be foreign policy ramifications as it relates to the import/export balance. Such is the sacrifice associated with a true free market economy. If Ford, GM, et al were to go out of business, the afore mentioned vacuum would indeed be created. In the short term people would buy Toyotas, Nissans, and Hondas (none of whom are having any issues right now). In the long run, it is very likely that enterprising U.S. citizens would figure out how to build a quality car and develop a business model that would allow them to sell those cars for a profit and compete with foreign auto makers. This is how a free market economy works.

As for the argument that a “collapse” of the U.S. auto industry would cripple the economy, stow it. My Fusion was made in Mexico, BMW’s are made in South Carolina. The vacuum will be filled and jobs will eventually be created. Either Congress needs to go ahead and embrace this path of regulated socialism that we have embarked on, or they need to step off and let the market do what a market is designed to do.

See Mom, that Poly Sci degree wasn’t totally useless.