The Money Pit

The fact that General Motors Corp. will almost certainly file for bankruptcy protection in the coming days comes as no surprise. The mammoth automaker is burdened by so many debts that it can’t continue without significant action.

What gets me is the amount of money the U.S. government is willing to throw at the company — another $50 billion. I recognize that there is a lot of industry and a couple hundred-thousand jobs tied to GM, but the company is bound to lay off thousands more as it restructures in bankruptcy. And who’s to say that the government doesn’t throw even more money at the company a few months down the road? Where’s the limit?

Back in November Congress grilled the automakers’ CEOs for days to figure out how they planned to make use of $17 billion that was ultimately doled out, and here there are no hearings, no solid plans put forth. This seems like a classic example of “too big to fail.”