Detroit 3 Bailout Smackdown: Brooks vs. Lessenberry

David Brooks:

"...the biggest threat to a healthy economy is not the socialists of campaign lore. It's CEOs. It's politically powerful crony capitalists who use their influence to create a stagnant corporate welfare state."

"There seems to be no one who believes the companies are viable without radical change. A federal cash infusion will not infuse wisdom into management. It will not reduce labor costs. It will not attract talented new employees. As Megan McArdle of The Atlantic wittily put it, 'Working for the Big Three magically combines vast
corporate bureaucracy and job security in one completely unattractive package.'"

"...capital that could have gone to successful companies and programs will be directed toward companies with a history of using it badly."

Jack Lessenberry:

"Yes, something needs to be done for Detroit's automakers, though they've worked for years at not deserving it. But that something needs to be intelligent, creative and long-term. We need a creative vision for the future. Anderson says: 'It is not unreasonable to believe that [the Big Three] might survive as self-sustaining companies if government money can get them over the credit crunch and deep recession that is expected.'"

"That's a gamble that I reluctantly think our government should take. I have no interest in helping creatures like William Clay Ford, for the long-term, stupidly arrogant leaders of General Motors — or, for that matter, the shortsighted leaders of the United Auto Workers union. But this entire region doesn't deserve to be punished for their sins."

"What everyone has to get through their noggins is that it is never, ever going to be like it was. Things are going to get worse before they get better, if they get better, no matter what."