As we watch the Big Three CEOs and their staff parade through Washington asking for help why are not we considering saving two out of the three automakers? I know that the way Paulson helped his former buddies at Goldman Sachs letting Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and even Merrill Lynch disappear as independent entities was pretty weak. But having said that it is also the case that the survivors have less competition and are therefore more likely to survive. The American public seems to be divided into the buy American crowd and the rest of the market who tends to go for foreign cars. It should be clear to all of us that if GM say, goes, Ford is likely to do much better. So one not let one of the three fail and make the other two stronger?
Follow Martin Varsavsky on Twitter: www.twitter.com/martinvars
Glad to see I'm not alone in spotting the obvious. Goldman has the right people in the right places, and always has! What Paulson did screams conflict of interest, and should be investigated, not applauded. What he did was to mess around with natural selection and tilt the outcome in favor of the one Wall Street bank that has had its tentacles in this government longer and deeper than just about any other.
Using Goldman's survival as an example of how to deal with the auto industry is fallacious at best, and advocating for more illegal and immoral intervention at worst.
Its great that you show us how Goldman became the last man standing through patronage and favoritism. That needs to screamed from the rooftops.
It is, however, exactly the wrong prescription for what ails Detroit. Less Consolidation, not more, will be the answer. And a truly open and free market with strong regulation will ensure that these events never occur again. Too Big To Fail must die!