Bailout Update

BAILOUT UPDATE….The latest on the auto front:

The White House said on Thursday that an “orderly” bankruptcy was one option being considered to try to rescue General Motors and Chrysler, which are seeking billions of dollars to avoid a shutdown.

….Under one possibility that has been discussed, the government would give G.M. and Chrysler enough financing to operate for several months. Then a government-selected overseer would bring together company executives and other representatives to map out steps that would be taken once the two companies file for Chapter 11 protection.

This is the “prepackaged bankruptcy” option that’s been mooted a few times before. It actually sounds like a decent compromise to me: it keeps the companies from imploding in the middle of a huge recession, but at the same time it gives a bankruptcy court considerable leeway to impose serious restructuring of the kind that a political process probably can’t. The end result — if it’s done right — is a pair of companies that will end up smaller but still viable in the long term, and an economy that takes only a moderate hit instead of a killing blow. Call me tentatively in favor of this approach.