What’s the Exit Strategy?

Can someone tell me what the exit strategy is on aid to GM and Chrysler? I’ve provided one, and James was kind enough to cite it in the post linked above.

Will we stop subsidizing the companies once they’ve filed bankruptcy? I have no reason to believe that. If it made sense to subsidize GM and Chrysler in order to preserve the jobs of their employees before they’ve filed for bankruptcy, doesn’t it make as much sense to keep subidizing them afterwards? Will the jobs suddenly become unimportant?

One of the many things that I think is being ignored by the Obama Administration in this regard is that the world does not stand still. Not only are there German, French, Italian, Japanese, and South Korean automobile companies who’d like to get a larger part of the American market to shore up their own domestic auto industries, all of which are suffering, there are Indian and Chinese auto manufacturers looking to do the same thing.

If GM and Chrysler produce greener cars, they’ll produce greener cars. There’s no survival plan there for GM and Chrysler and there’s no exit strategy for subsidies to GM. The Volt is unsaleable without a subsidy. And, as I’ve suggested previously, I believe that there’s a scalability problem in the production of hybrids and electric that makes the idea of saving GM through producing hybrids or electrics a will o’ the wisp.

If we impose import quotas or tariffs on foreign automobiles, other countries will do the same. And they won’t limit themselves to automobiles but will restrict everything we export to them. That’s no solution, either.

Expansion into some overseas market is unrealistic. The Indian and Chinese auto companies are going to make that very, very difficult. Mark my words. Soon there will be Vietnamese car companies trying to shoehorn their way into the world market.