Sad news for those who rely on American auto manufactures for sustenance. After being enacted by the House of Representatives last Wednesday, the bill designed to save the American auto industry has been shot down in the Senate. The bill was created to provide emergency loans for automakers General Motors and Chrysler LLC, both of whom have stated that they need this money to survive and stay in business.

Still, the combined amount they need is over $15 billion dollars (and that’s just to stay afloat), but resistence in the Senate was strong. All that was needed was 60 “yes” votes to move ahead with the industry-aided legislation. But in the end the vote was 52-35 in favor of aid. To think that many Senators would oppose is a bit startling, but it shows how we may be focusing a bit to much on one factor. We need to look at the bigger picture.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had this to say late Thursday night,”We have not been able to get this over the finish line.”He also fears what could happen to Wall Street come Friday. “It’s not going to be a pretty sight,” he said. Reid then went on to say that the failure of negotiations will mean a “a very, very bad Christmas” for many Americans, which is indeed the saddest part of all.
GM had this to say in an official statement:

“We are deeply disappointed that agreement could not be reached tonight in the Senate despite the best bipartisan efforts. We will assess all of our options to continue our restructuring and to obtain the means to weather the current economic crisis.”

While some economists say that letting these companies fail would have devastating affects on the already fragile U.S. economy others have a different view on the matter. In fact, one of the first rules of business law is if a company has mismanaged itself into a bad position of no return, the best thing to do is to just let it die. The death of these companies could mean the death of the U.S. auto industry, but it could also mean they now have a chance to die and rise from the ashes stronger, smarter, and more committed to bringing the public sustainable mobility. Either way, we will have to wait and see what our country’s leaders feel is best. Hopefully they’ll make the right decision, they do have a spotty track record on this matter….

Source: Automotive News