The Auto Bailout

I cannot be the only person in the United States who believes the bailout of the auto industry is a colossal mistake, can I? The media reports the CEO's of the auto firms are saying "Bankruptcy is not an option" and to that I say, "Really, why not?" Their response is that the American people will not buy cars from them if they declare bankruptcy, which is ludicrous. The American people are not currently buying their cars, which is how they ended up where they are. Along with their mismanagement, of course, is the fact that they are being bailed out by the same crew that exacerbated the situation in the first place. If our elected officials had not placed such idiotic hinderances on the auto industry perhaps they could have been more competitive and would not have been handicapped in their attempts to be profitable. The hypocrisy of our elected officials is positively mind boggling. In the late 20's and early 30's of the last century, the US went through a devastating depression that only ended with the advent of World War II. The depression was a cleansing event for our entire citizenry, and refocused our efforts to understand our responsibilities and obligations. When individuals are forced to make hard decisions as to feeding and clothing families, those decisions form our character. Living through difficult circumstances oftentimes leads to acquring a broader perspective and we become stronger as individuals, communities and a nation. Attempting to forestall those circumstances, which is all that a bailout can do, is doing our nation a disservice. I say let them reap what they have sown, in the end we will all be stronger for it.