Banking and business are not the same. The government has no choice but to bail out the banks because they are part of the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve is an independent centralized bank system established under the Federal Reserve Act with quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial powers that has jurisdiction over banking institutions. Under the Glass-Steagal Act, Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as an independent agency to insure deposit accounts and enforce regulation of banks under the Federal Reserve System. Unlike their parent companies (e.g., Washington Mutual, Inc. vs. Washington Mutual Bank), banks are ineligible for bankruptcy reorganization. 11 U.S.C. § 109(b)(2). An insolvent bank is taken over by the FDIC; which is why there needs to be a clear dividing line between bank investment that is insured, and market trading that is not. This is why Dodd-Frank does not allow proprietary trading by bank entities under the Volcker Rule.
I understand that but the reason we were given is that IF GM and Chrysler were to go under it would have a ripple effect throughout the economy. Here is President Obama making that case:
Business: President Discusses G.M. Bankruptcy - nytimes.com - YouTube
The "money shot" is at the 1:20-1:30 bit. I used this clip because it was from a reputable source.
Here we are in 2012 and if GM and/or Chrysler were to look like they were at death's door once more (that rhymes); we'd have the same situation; they are too big to fail and their death would send shockwaves through the economy.
I supported the bail out of the Auto Industry.
I'll repeat; I supported the bailout of the Auto Industry.
Unlike every single conservative on this board, I can make the very small jump in logic and understand that the paltry amount of UAW jobs that the bailout did save pales in number to the number of non-union jobs that were preserved. It is particularly humorous for these idiots to feel that this was some sort of gift for the UAW alone since most of the jobs saved were not union jobs.
That being said, you tell me, what has changed?
Would we not, again, have to go to bat for GM if they faced another financial disaster? Clearly the answer is yes.
If the Obama Administration had broke GM into, lets say, 3 different companies pairing off their products or perhaps 6 different brands or something along those lines, any one of those companies would be allowed to go through the bankruptcy procedures without sending out such massive shockwaves through out the economy as a whole.