My brother wrote a letter to the White House - the president himself in fact - and as I write that I feel kind of silly, like a ten year old who's irate with the way her parents are treating her. If you make me eat ONE MORE VEGETABLE I'M GOING TO...WRITE THE PRESIDENT.
And yet, we have that right, the right to pen a letter to our president and not feel impossibly silly. The right to expect that he is not untouched by our opinions and just might read it. Either way, now is for sure not a time to be reluctant in communicating what you believe. I'm posting most of the letter below. I edited a little content to make it slightly less personal (why my brother had to indicate his preference in boxers or briefs I'LL NEVER KNOW) but you have the majority of an incredibly well written letter. I absolutely could not have articulated it better and it is what I have been so desperate to march up to Congress, grab a lawmaker, any lawmaker, shake vigorously by the shoulders, and say.
Subject: Please DO NOT bail out the Big Three
<PERSONAL REDACTED UNDERWEAR INFORMATION> ...however, your desire to "save" the Big Three by circumventing Congress to use TARP money to bail them out is a mistake.
The bankruptcy system is well designed to handle the problems these companies face. It is counter-intuitive, but a bankruptcy process offers a far greater chance of fixing these companies for long-term survival; a bailout will keep them alive until the next President comes, but not much longer. Problems that were unsolved when these companies enjoyed significant SUV/minivan profits will not be effectively addressed until and unless the companies face a credible threat of liquidation.
In addition to ensuring the long-term survival of these companies, an effective bankruptcy process without government funds will:
a) Prevent the spread of moral hazard. Too many people have learned they can gain from risk-taking while the government covers the downside. Making industrial companies "too big to fail" will only spread this behavior.
b) Save taxpayer money.
c) Help progress the economic turnaround. To get out of this recession, the US needs markets to clear. Worthless equity and debt needs to be wiped out; non-economic contracts need to be re-worked; in short, failures need to occur, so good money can pursue good risks. The longer the government tries to prevent the "band aid from being ripped off", the longer the recession will last.
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