Earlier today I was reading an article on MSN that talked about a possible bailout for American automotive companies. Ford, Chrysler, and GM are all on the brink of disaster and possible bankruptcy. The overall economy has been a killer for these companies. Add in a dose of Honda and other foreign carmakers who are gaining in popularity and the picture doesn’t look too pretty for the big three. So they are calling on Washington to bail them out of this mess. They are open to just about any stipulation that would be tagged onto a bailout deal. They just need a massive loan to keep operations moving forward.

There are so many questions that came to mind while I was reading this article. Let me just pose two for our discussion.

How did Chrysler, Ford, and GM get to the point of near bankruptcy? And is a governmental bailout the right step in solving the problem?

This bailout is being held up by a strong minority of Republicans in Washington who believe that this loan may not solve the real problem and will only put our government in greater debt. What do you think?