What would happen today if these companies failed? What would happen to the million or so employees? What would happen to the economy? Have we come to a point where the government will bail out every large organization? Is that the right thing to do? When your business starts to fail, just run to Uncle Sam with your hand out asking for money?
If the government does bail out the big three it will send a signal that the government is doing something to fix the economy. But do we want the government fixing the economy? Do we want the government to be the safety net for the nation’s corporations? Wouldn’t that remove any incentive from the companies to keep themselves from failing? "We're too big to fail, please bail us out" they will all say. Then next time they have no incentive to be careful, Uncle Sam will bail us out.
On the other-hand, at some point there must be some intervention to ensure we all have some of the basic necessities. However, I think the basic rule of business cycles should be observed. When the economy is going up, we as a nation should save and prepare for a rainy day. When the rains come and the downward part of the cycle appears, the government should not be the big fix-all for the companies and individuals who failed to prepare.
While harsh, the transportation needs will be better met with a big-three which functions more efficiently than they do today. Bankruptcy or all-out failure may lead to their making themselves more efficient and focusing on what is most important making a product which the consumers want to buy!
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