Bailout or Survival

On the Big Three "Bailout," I found these two articles explained everything clearly, yet briefly.

Michael Levine, "Why Bankruptcy is the Best Option for GM" (Wall Street Journal, Nov. 17, 2008).

Mitt Romney, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" (New York Times, Nov. 18, 2008).

GM would not disappear, nor would the American auto industry. GM would reorganize under chapter 11 bankruptcy, throw off a lot of the baggage that's dragging them down (way too many dealerships that are protected by state laws from being closed, buildings and plants they are not using but which they are having to carry because of tax breaks they received to build them in the first place, etc.). They would become a rationally organized company for their market share and actually make a profit.

What the American automakers are requesting from Congress is not a bailout, which would suggest actually getting them out of something bad. The "bailout" would kill them, or rather it would prolong their suicide. Sinking is their only hope of survival, ironically.