Originally Posted by SteveZ

Then if they can't negotiate fixes to their problems, let them all die together.

As cruel as that may sound, that's capitalism versus the State nationalizing industries "for their own good." The last time I looked, General Motors consisted of Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac and partial ownership of several other companies. Not long ago there was Oldsmobile as well, but that died due to evolving markets. There's not many around who still remember when there wasn't a GM, and all of those brand names were separate companies which got acquired and merged as the auto industry evolved.

A GM-Ford merger may be next in the evolution, but that's the industry evolving with the times and the business base.

I can't think of one time when "governmentalizing" has helped an industry. The last time it was done was in the establishment of the Department of Energy to shepherd us out of oil dependency. Boy, has that worked well! We have a "Drug Czar" and yet the problems associated with narcotic addiction, smuggling, violence et al has grown to epic proportions since that "leadership" position and supporting staff came onto the scene.

When will we ever learn that "more government" doesn't make things better and isn't the all-encompassing solution to every hiccup or problem. It just creates more jobs funded via taxation - jobs that just never seem to go away, and for some peculiar reason, the problems continue to mushroom.