The Automotive Bailout

Whether you agree with bailouts or not, Mitt Romney's "let the company fail" can't work. Almost 2 million jobs have some tie in to the auto industry, and if it goes out of business, there is a chance that at least half of those jobs are lost, if not more.

That said, the "Big Three" are awful companies - awful. An untrained monkey could have run these companies better. What kind of moronic institution lobbies the government to not require they make their cars more fuel efficient and then act shocked as the more fuel efficient cars sell better? While this is not an industry I think the government should control, sometimes I wish that the government just bought the auto industry so they could fire the morons in charge. Each and every one of them deserves to go out of business, and if the country could survive with them gone, I'd demolish them all.

But a bailout, unfortunately, is necessary. So what should be the conditions?

Here are my thoughts. Add your own:

> Must be paid back in 15 years
> All cars should be have a minimum highway MPG of 50 by 2012 (this should not be difficult, the technology already exists).
> If the company can get all their new cars to 50 before 2012, they can keep some of the bailout without having to pay it back. If their models drop back below 50, they owe it again.
> Researching alternative energy should be mandatory. Strict government oversight in that area, however the government can help pay for the research.
> Government has a "say" - though not a final say - in executive management. Not decisions, but leadership. If the companies are ever run that stupid again, the government is allowed to try to oust them. Beyond that, no government involvement in management.

Any others?