At the time of this post, NATIONALIZATION (yes, with the all caps) is a Drudge Report headline that links to this article. This article states that “Congress and the White House inched toward agreement on legislation that would throw a financial lifeline to the Big Three auto makers, giving the government a substantial ownership stake in the industry and a central role in its restructuring.” I am certain that everyone on this board (with the possible exception of a few trolls) opposes this bill but it would possibly have one (and only one) upside. It would put the lie to any claim that the government itself had no role to any future problems in the automotive industry. No doubt these three automakers have suffered from, shall we say, less than excellent management but even that would not have lead to their current crisis in-and-of-itself. Right now politicians can, in the eyes of many gullible voters, absolve themselves from having any part in the automaker’s woes. That will end the moment that the federal government becomes part owner of these firms.
Times like these make me wish I were the dictator of Michigan. If the Big Three would really become partially nationalized, I would raise capital gains and corporate taxes JUST on the Big Three soooooooooooo high…