Car Trouble

The clock is ticking on the auto industry, I think- and we're starting to see the effects closer to Main Street: a GM dealership in Waseca is shutting down (Waseca's about twenty minutes east of Mankato) and a major Twin Cities dealer, Denny Hecker shut down about six dealerships I think- and the follow-on effects of that move are still being felt.

I still stand by my original thought on the auto industry though: if we're going to have the government start cutting checks, it should be to help the employees of these companies, not to prop up the companies that will probably merge or collapse at some point anyway. Again, look at the airline industry: we bailed them out after 9-11, but rising fuel costs and pressures on the industry have lead to price spikes, bankruptcies and mergers. I'm not an expert, but I think that's probably where the industry is headed anyway. And if Congress isn't going to pony-up the cash, then the Big 3 should just lay it out there and go home, say if we don't get help by such and such a date, then we're going under.