Michael Maskalans <dml@tepidcola.com> wrote:
> On Nov 5, 2009, at 02:51 , jon@dakota-truck.net wrote:
>> I
>> don't think its a coincidence that the only one of the big three
>> currently turning a profit - Ford - is also the only one that didn't
>> latch onto the government "bailout" teet. A really smart move on
>> their part;
> Don't forget that was /pure/ luck: they were doing the worst of three
> huge failures, and had to take out massive private loans to continue
> operations before the other two - but when they were in need private
> financing was still available. Chrysler and GM held out longer, but
> long enough that they couldn't secure private financing. So now we
> all own them. Lucky us.
You could very well be right. I don't have any inside info into
Ford, so I suppose its entirely possible that if the timing on things
had been a bit different, Ford would have been right there alongside
of GM and Chrysler accepting the "bailouts". I don't know them well
enough to know whether not accepting bailouts was a corporate
inclination towards the free market or just luck and timing. (On the
surface though it seems like somebody there must have made the
decision not to participate for some of the right reasons - I mean,
with the government giving out "free money", I suppose Ford could have
taken some bailout cash and used it to pay off the private loans?)
Whatever the reason things worked out the way they did though, I still
think the complete waste of money that were the bailouts and the
results afterwards is a teachable moment as to what happens when the
government tries to meddle in the market. :-(
--
-Jon-
.- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
| '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
`-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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