Congratulations to Ford Motor Company

There are a number of things I like about the Obama administration, largely in foreign policy and to a lesser extent in terms of civil liberties. But there is one area where I disapprove totally. I think a company that fails should be permitted to fail. The only cushion provided should be the bankruptcy laws, and even big companies should have to negotiate that path on their own. Unfortunately, I believe neither party, if in power, would have had the guts to follow that path.

So I enjoyed reading this article on MSNBC about how Ford is nonetheless benefiting from the current situation and the fact that they are surviving without bankruptcy or the type of federal intervention that is happening with Chrysler and GM.

I sincerely hope this will continue. Companies fail for a reason, and it’s not just the economic downturn. Note that there are surviving companies, including Ford and some foreign-owned manufacturers building in the United States. The downturn was and is survivable, and those companies that can survive should.

I don’t say this because I don’t care about employment or economic displacement. I firmly believe that if failure is rewarded, more failure will result. If that is the case, all we have done by avoiding some pain now is to store up more pain for the future. I have no faith that the government can “direct” these companies in such a way as to make them viable in the long term.

So my congratulations go to Ford. Stay out of the government’s pocket, and my next car (I currently drive a GM product) is almost certain to come from you!