Should the U.S. Government Bail Out the Big Three?

Ford, Chrysler, and GM have recently just started asking the government for money. Each automaker's main excuse for their financial crisis is the economy. The first time the CEOs from each company asked the government for $25 billion they were turned down. Government officials quickly turned the automakers down because the CEOs of all of the companies didn't have a plan. And several of the democratic leaders really didn't like it when the CEOs of each company arrived separately in gas guzzling private jets. The trip to Washington, DC in the private jets costs thousands of dollars.

Many people are wondering if the Big Three deserves to be bailed out especially after wasting so much money just to fly to Washington, DC.

Americans just don't understand how the CEOs of all the automakers let their companies go into a financial crisis. One of the main reasons GM, Ford, and Chrysler are in a financial crisis is because each company has continued to make gas guzzling vehicles. Over the years, the Big Three automakers have ignored the idea of making fuel efficient cars. They continued to make gas guzzling trucks and SUVs while the foreign automakers made more fuel efficient cars.

When Ford and GM finally decided to make fuel efficient cars, they were already behind foreign automakers such as Toyota and Honda. Since Ford and GM waited so long to make fuel efficient cars it would be hard for them to catch up to the competition because the foreign automakers already have a customer base that depends on them to make reliable fuel efficient cars.

Another reason the Big Three are struggling is because they make several low quality and unattractive cars. The Big Three have has so many recalls for unsafe cars that it has caused many loyal customers to buy foreign cars instead.

One of the automakers that have received several complaints about their cars quality is Chrysler. In 1998, when Chrysler was having financial trouble, the U.S. government allowed the company to be bought by Daimler-Benz (manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, and others). When both companies combined and became DaimlerChrysler, the quality of Mercedes-Benz began to go down. During their partnership Daimler had the biggest recall they have ever had for Mercedes. Many owners of Mercedes and car experts believe this happened because of the partnership with Chrysler. In 2007, Daimler finally decided to sell Chrysler.

Many owners of Chrysler's vehicles have also complained about their cars. Several of them have had problems with the electrical wiring, several mechanical problems, and safety problems.

After the disaster the Big Three have created, many Americans feel believe they should bail themselves out instead of using taxpayer money. But other Americans feel like the government should help the automakers because the auto industry is very important to the U.S. and the economy.

If the government does decide to bail out the Big Three, there could be a chance all the automakers might continue to make the same mistakes. There have already been reports of fifty Chrysler executives receiving $30 million dollars in bonuses. Six of the executives could receive between $1.5 and $1.9 million.

If the all the CEOs of the Big Three continue to be greedy and arrogant, the U.S. auto industry could fail even if the U.S. government decides to bail them out.