In theory I'd say die die and die some more. I'd like to think that if we let GM just die then out of work car people will move on to creating the cars we actually want/need. Rather than arguing with unions over health care and labor standards, and begging for hand outs.
If they just died we could move onto the next stage of creative destruction, and those car people would build cars using alternative fuels, electric cars, fuel effecient, cool looking cars (not buicks, SUVs, and La Sabres).
However, I think we have to consider that if America stopped making cars then we'd just be sitting ducks for all the other manufacturers out there that are doing fine. Toyota, Germany, the Chinese, and Koreans. I think they'd just dump cheap imports on us, and we wouldn't get an environment where entrepreneurs could innovate new products without competition from larger manufacturers.
So I think the die argument, even without considering the pain of job loss, is naive to think we'd get better products made by American companies. I'm not convinced we would be better off letting them die.
This is slightly missing the point - if GM goes through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy they will not "stop making cars". Their stock will go to zero, they will default on most of their borrowed money, they will probably have to fire a lot of people, simplify their product line, and sell off some brands to other groups. But they will keep operating as a company.
If they just died we could move onto the next stage of creative destruction, and those car people would build cars using alternative fuels, electric cars, fuel effecient, cool looking cars (not buicks, SUVs, and La Sabres).
However, I think we have to consider that if America stopped making cars then we'd just be sitting ducks for all the other manufacturers out there that are doing fine. Toyota, Germany, the Chinese, and Koreans. I think they'd just dump cheap imports on us, and we wouldn't get an environment where entrepreneurs could innovate new products without competition from larger manufacturers.
So I think the die argument, even without considering the pain of job loss, is naive to think we'd get better products made by American companies. I'm not convinced we would be better off letting them die.