GM - Like a Rock.

Several years ago, GM had a tag line in their advertising for trucks and SUV's: "Like a rock". How ironic that years later this could be applied to their fortunes: sinking "like a rock".

As bankruptcy looms as early as next week, bond holders are being vilified. Why? Because they chose to buy bonds from-or make a loan to - GM, who promised to pay them back? The nerve! Imagine loaning money to a former blue-chip US company and expecting them to pay it back!

The numbers are staggering. GM will need nearly $100 BILLION to keep viable. At what point does capitalism take over and we cut our losses? No-one is indispensable and that goes for corporations too. For years, we were eager to tell foreign countries to open up and let their markets grow through capitalism. That works fine there, as our companies gobbled up local concerns or ran them out of business - entirely legally and through the forces of capitalism. Now the shoe is on the other foot, we are sinking every dime we have - and don't have - into ailing automakers insisting that we can't let them go out of business. Why not? What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Letting GM go under might be very painful. But it has been a while since we have felt the sting of real pain, and as they say, no pain no gain.