Bailout Bingo – “Citi, Please Step To The Window”

November 24, 2008 at 2:18 pm · Filed under Credit Crisis and tagged: Citi Bailout, government bailout

Here we go again…The next company too big to fail puts their hat out for some tax payer love.

The more I hear the term “bailout”, the less I believe it is the right thing to do.  Probably the one that I have the biggest problem with at this point is the auto industry.  I know that there are millions of jobs associated with the auto industry.  And I know that a collapse of any one of the big 3 US auto makers would have a devastating affect on the economy.  But, has anyone noticed that Toyota and Honda are expanding?

Hmm…Some auto manufacturers are actually expanding and creating new jobs, while the US auto makers are completly crippled by expenses and technology issues.  I also discovered that the average wage for GM was $73 per hour, while the same worker at Toyota is making about $44 per hour.  I am no economist, but it looks like the company that makes a better product and can sell it cheaper deserves to beat out the competition.

So, that brings us back to Citi.  The term “too big to fail” is complete BS to me.  If you are providing a quality service, with an appropriate amount of risk, in a market where consumers need or want your product….you won’t fail (regardless of how big you are).  The more we keep throwing money at these companies to subsidize their failure, the more it is going to come back around to bite us (or our grandchildren) in the end.  And worse yet, the more we do it, the more everyone becomes numb to the idea of it.

Anyway, that’s my soapbox for the day.  If you would like to discuss your own mortgage bailout, give me a call at 850-221-8334, or visit SteveRussellOnline.com.

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