How do you define bailout? And who do you really think is first in line for every piece of government assistance? What do you think of government subsidies and payments to companies rewarded contracts without bid? What do you think of government handouts to giant agribusiness corporations in the commodity business while small farmers are left to their own devices? And finally, how do you define a socialist?

Eugene Debs, who was America's foremost socialist at the beginning of the 20th Century, defined socialism as Christianity in action. He believed he was his brother's keeper and fought to fullfill that pledge everyday of his life.  The struggle continues.

Adam,  I think we are pretty much on the same page here.  Your list of questions need to be answered by those proposing the bailouts in Washington.  Me and you, and everyone else out there working our butts off to make it, won't get bailed out if we make wrong decisions.  Most people knew that these companies were on a path to bankruptcy.  Why didn't they get to fail like any other business?  The answer to this question would scare the average person I believe.  It makes me want to do whatever I can to take our country back.

I know that the good old family bible talks about how we are our brothers keeper.  But the government is not supposed to be our brothers keeper.  We should look out for each other, but governments are not supposed to be there to bailout some people from failure, while the true workers are barely getting by.  I don't want the government to step in and bail the little ones out either.  Let the big ones fail, if that is the direction they are heading in.  Christianity in action could very well look like socialism.  But I prefer to call socialism anything that the government does to interfere in affairs that are typically understood to be private affairs.  I don't need the government making decisions for me on what I am going to do with my own property, for example.

Adam, lets take this country back before it's too late.  History suggests that socialism will only bring ruin to our country.

I'm against bailouts simply because they reward bad behavior.  Think of it this way - if you give your kid an allowance if he's good, and then keep giving it to him when he's bad, then what incentive does he have to be good?

I say let the company fail and let a better managed company take it over.

The fault of failure in the auto industry lies not with the car companies who only build what people buy, nor with the oil companies who only sell crude for what it's worth, nor with the Saudis who try to drive the prices up to increase their profit margin - the fault lies with the consumers.  They were the ones buying these big gas guzzling cars, even knowing the volatility of gas prices.  Didn't the OPEC embargo of the 70's lead to more fuel efficient vehicles?  After learning that lesson once, was it necessary to learn it again?  I blame most things on consumers, because that's where the blame belongs.  Unreasonable expectations help to artificially inflate prices, and when it all comes tumbling down and the euphoria wears off you finally see the true value of the object.  If it's worthless, then it's not worth bailing out - you're trying to salvage the Titanic here, and someone somewhere has got to pay for it!

Toyota has been building a BIG pickup and losing money on it for years. Nissan just entered into a contract to build a Dodge Ram clone. Hemi and Cummins engine et.al.

Stupidity is not limited to American management.

What I want to know is. What good will a 50 billion dollar bail out do. If the big 3 are burning through that kind of money in just a few months.

Under the Reagonomics promoted during the Bush regime. The middle class is being pushed into poverty. Which one of them. All of them driving fairly new cars. Are going out to spend another 35 grand to buy a hybrid when gasoline is 2 bucks a gallon.

And when the middle class won't spend their money. The price of all commodities, Food, gas and housing, goes down. You now get a reverse bubble. People don't buy, because they are waiting on a better price.

I see the Big three taking all the bailout money. Burning through it all, then filing bankruptcy. Use the bankruptcy to destroy the unions and dump their health care commitments onto a single payer national health care system. And if the big 3 renege on their retirement commitment. GOD help us all.