Congress Passes a $17.4B Bailout for GM and Chrysler, with Ford Knocking on the Door.

After weeks of pleading at congressional hearings, GM and Chrysler have been awarded $17.4B in emergency federal loans. Even though Ford’s chairman has claimed not to need any government assistance unless “the world implodes as we know it,” recent sales declines indicate Ford may be asking for a piece of the handout as well. This $17.4B was taken from the $750B stimulus package Congress passed to assist Wall Street last year. It seems like everyone needs assistance in this economy. The question is, are we assisting the right people? One opinion is that the fat cats are the ones being bailed out while the real people facing home foreclosures and car repossessions still have to deal with their problems. These companies have been run into the ground by their management, who somehow rack up million dollar bonuses each year. These people have multiple properties to manage, while most people worry about their ability to make payments on their one and only home. On the other hand, the bailout affects more than the people who have screwed up the U.S. auto industry. This affects factory workers, steelworkers, and even ad agencies. By withholding money to punish the incompetent, those who work behind the scenes in the industry are in danger of losing their jobs. So once the money is put to use, time will tell whether companies pull themselves up by the bootstraps, or whether they’ll still sink because of a failing product.