Right Angle

It doesn’t matter what any expert says. No government minister, university professor, business analyst or talking head “expert” can possibly have any idea of the ramifications of letting the Big Three automakers fail (i.e. reap what they have sown). No-one has any clue exactly how many jobs are tied to the auto industry, but I can guarantee you it is less than the aforementioned gaggle make out.

For years we have been threatened with the death of the auto industry - the CAW and UAW have made their members rich off of the fear its failure. Politicians have tried to buy votes and poured millions into the industry only to watch as plants have been shuttered while the fat execs at the top have grown smug off of huge compensation packages.

The most efficient way of dealing with the whole situation is to let the companies fail. Anyone thrown out of work gets (Un-)employment Insurance. That means money is going to those who actually need it through a system that is already in place.

What will happen next? Take a look at the 401 any time of the day or night. People need cars. They need car parts. They need their cars serviced. There will be entrepreneurs by the hundreds lining up to purchase the assets of the Big Three and start turning out cars, parts and signing up dealerships.

Let’s face it, when a business fails and it has been providing a necessary service or product to the economy, another will rise to take its place. There will be some temporary pain and dislocation, but for every Bargain Harold’s that goes out of business (Bankrupt in 1992) a Dollar Store rises to take its place.

The auto industry is failing because it has been run badly and inefficiently, not because people don’t want or need cars. Let these three go under and one or two modern, responsive, customer-friendly alternatives rise in their place.

We’ll all be better served.