I’d really like to know what is going on in Washington. What runs through the minds of our so-called congressmen and congresswomen? Why is it that we’ll pony up $700 billion dollars with just the snap of a finger to help battle a crazy mortgage related mess but we’re too damn poor (or are we just too good?) to come to the aid of the “big three” (Ford, GM, Chrysler) with a measly $25 billion dollar loan?

Washington D.C. and Detroit have lost their minds

And on that note what the hell has been going through the minds of every executive at these three automakers over the past several decades? Why is it that they are on the brink of bankruptcy and constantly losing market share when most of their foreign competitors are raking in the American Consumers’ dollar?

Unfortunately the question about the executives at the “big three” is a fully loaded question. It’s also likely to get some passionate responses. On that note if you want to voice your opinion on the “big three” then leave your comments at the new personal finance discussion forums here at Debit versus Credit.

$700bn? Sure. $25bn? Nah.

Let’s travel back to Washington D.C. Today Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa. said he wasn’t so sure that they should be supporting a loan package to the U.S. Automakers. Check out what he had to say about this:

I am not yet convinced that we must act so rashly. The American public demands that we get this right.

He’s right about one thing. We do demand that they get this right. I’d like to know however if ANYONE out there actually believes they did get this right. I don’t want to be hypocritical and say that thing should have turned around by now when in fact I’ve been preaching that it will take time. I still believe that. It will take time. However if we go back before the $700bn bailout was even conceived, back to a time when the subprime mortgage fiasco had not even begun to take place then we can see where maybe Washington didn’t get it right.

Where were they when these totally bogus loans were being created, repackaged and sold? I demand answers on why they have done nothing right for as long as I’ve been old enough to have any idea what’s going on in the world. For that matter are they ever going to get it right? Well Washington?

There’s a lot more riding on this than they’re letting on

The fact of the matter is that Detroit shouldn’t be in this mess. If they were half the company that Toyota is then they would have nothing much to worry about. But they’re not. The fact is they need help and we are basically refusing help. Well Washington open your eyes, because there’s a lot more riding on this than some of you might realize. What happens if G.M. goes belly up? Somewhere around 145,000 people will lose their jobs directly, but millions more will be affected. There are around 7,400 G.M. dealerships that will likely close. There are suppliers, shipping companies, marketing firms, etc. It’s a much bigger problem than Washington seems to realize, or maybe they’re just not letting on what they know.

Honestly there’s no way to tell. All I know is that they’ve already put $700bn dollars on the line that no regular citizen will ever see any direct effects from… what’s another $25bn to do save some auto makers from bankruptcy (something that is tangible)?

What do you think?