As General Motors finally filed for bankruptcy yesterday, some critics of the move have already made the case that Congress, not a White House task force, should have planned the bankruptcy. They are right about one thing: a White House task force should not have planned the bankruptcy. But they are 180 degrees wrong about what the government should have done. The bankruptcy needed much less “public policy” input, not more. If GM were going through a “normal” bankruptcy, here is what would have happened:
随着通用汽车(GM)最终于6月1日申请破产保护,一些对此持批评意见的人士已经提出,筹划这起破产案的应该是美国国会,而非白宫特别小组。有一点他们说对了:白宫特别小组不应规划这起破产案。但对于政府本应做什么,他们却彻底搞错了。破产需要更少的“公共政策”投入,而非更多。如果通用汽车走的是“正常”破产程序,那么本来可能会出现以下局面: