Can somebody please explain to me why Congress should demand business plans showing how they’ll achieve long term viability of the automobile makers before giving them their loans and not demand similar business plans from states that come begging for bailouts?
Probably because that’s political dynamite for a lot of Congressmen. Take California, for example. Probably the only way you’re going to get back to anything resembling a normal state finance structure is if they abolish their referendum system (or at least restrict its ability to demand things that cost extra money, like mandatory spending on schools or prisons). Do you think John Q. Congresscritter wants to be the one to tell California that their voters are effectively too stupid to balance a budget?