To bail or not to bail: That is the question – for this month’s Streetwise. Should the U.S. government bail out the auto industry?Executives from Chrysler, Ford and General Motors have asked Congress for a multi-billion-dollar loan in hopes of avoiding the industry’s collapse.The Big Three feel the failure is not theirs; they place the blame on less demand in the midst of a declining economy. Critics feel otherwise and think the auto industry has failed to develop smaller, fuel-efficient cars; instead, they’ve concentrated on gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles.Four people were eager to share their opinions about this matter. Find out what they had to say on whether the government should come to the automakers rescue or let them solve their own economic problems.
| Laura McQueen CalhanI think the government needs to treat these private companies the way you would if you were raising a child. You can only teach them so much. Sometimes they have to fall on their face and pick themselves up. You didn’t see the government bailing out the airlines when they were in trouble. So I don’t think they should bail out the auto companies either. |  |
 | Darla Kane FalconI don’t think they should be bailed out. And I think the unions have ruined things more than they have helped. This is why jobs are going overseas. The labor is cheaper. If the government bails out the auto industry, it’s only going to put us more in debt. |
| Rita Ivancik PeytonI think it’s the auto industry’s fault that they are in financial trouble. They are not building the kind of cars that we need. |  |
 | Charles Carson ElbertI am not so much in favor of the auto companies going to the government for a bail out. It would give the government too much control over private industries. I don’t want to see them go under either, but if the government gets involved, they are just going to dictate the kind of cars they can build and make more policies. I think the best way to help is to ease the restrictions they have on them already. |
