While I think the CEO's of the auto industries and their henchmen deserve a sound flogging, I don't so much mind bailing out those companies. I think the difference for me is that the folks working at the auto industry are members of a dying breed of blue collar workers. There's been a recent shift in America, away from the blue collar jobs. Blue collar jobs are no longer good enough for the average American, perhaps rightly b/c most blue collar jobs don't provide a living wage, so all those immigrants that get such a bad rap are more than willing to take those jobs. The auto industry has held strong though. Its an industry that employs large numbers of non-college degree holding people, pays them well, provides health insurance and retirement.
If the auto industry fails and all the workers loose their job they can't just go out and find another job welding doors, or whatever the specific task they are trained to do is. If a trader looses his job, or banking officer, they have higher education and transferable skills, eventually they'll find something else.
So perhaps its not such a bad thing to try to save the jobs of hundreds of people. Even though they don't make a ton of money or have college degrees, we should still try to help them put food on their table and keep them off the dole.
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