General Motors, Chrysler and to some end, Ford, are asking for $34 billion in subsidy loans to support their survival for the next few months.  By all acounts, it won’t be anywhere near enough, but that’s beside the point.  What’s funny about this is the sheer volume of justification that they’re having to go through to get these loans.  AIG, it would seems, got $150 billion just because, and very few questioned the need or the justification for it.

Is the current debate over whether or not to provide financial aid to the automakers a white-collar/blue-collar argument, because it’s sure looking that way when the government gives billions to help a single company like AIG and yet it won’t help companies like Chrysler, General Motors and Ford with a nearly insignificant $25 billion.  Readers already know that I am against these bailouts on principle with the belief that they are prolonging the problem by smoothing the road and not fixing the problem, which ultimately means a much longer and more painful recession.  My mantra remains, let companies fail, even the big ones – it will hurt more, but generally it’s for a shorter period of time  The net impact on the economy will most certainly be less.