Big 3 loan again

This morning I feel like we should let the Big 3 auto manufacturers (GM, Ford, Chrysler) fail.
Why?

1. Those CEO's are unbelievable and have no idea what they're doing. I don't trust them at all.
2. According to some, the alternative to bailing them out is a depression like we've never seen before. Somebody is trying to scare me into agreeing with them. I don't think its good to make decisions from fear.
3. Where does it end? What industries will be determined to be so important to the American economy that we need to save them? What is the criteria? Nobody knows.
4. The problem with the auto industry is that it hasn't stayed competitive. A bailout won't change that.
5. I have said I'd support a loan to the automakers with S T R O N G strings attached. But, I don't trust the government to make a good negotiation that will stick.

The other side of the coin, for me, is all those workers who might lose their jobs. That's a stiff price to pay. I don't feel comfortable making a decision that doesn't directly affect me (though indirectly it could), but could cause other people to suffer. Especially through no fault of their own.

Which makes me wonder what the workers think.
And then I remember that part of the problem is that the government has been supporting the automotive and big oil companies for years with their lackadaisical fuel efficiency policies and that was done with the support of congress. The same workers who might now be affected are probably the same people who voted for congresspeople who supported the bad policies of the big oil and big 3 automakers.

So, maybe the people in that area have helped to create the situation they're in by their selection of congress people? I'd have to research the policies of congresspeople in that area.

That's an example of the how important our votes can be and how easily we can be manipulated to vote against our own interest.

As of this moment, Harry Reid has decided not to vote in the Senate today about auto manufacturers loan. Those private jets really did them in! What a bunch of idiots!

I still think the issues that have been brought out in this discussion and the previous one about the financial markets are important. We need to come to terms with this.

And what about all the other industries that are supported by the government, but we don't even talk about? Farmers still get subsidies and price supports don't they? We add tariffs (?) to countries that want to import commodities that we consider special. Right?
So, all this talk about socialism and stuff like that is a little disingenous.