Does the Automaker Bailout Actually Bailout the Unions

The major U.S. automakers have requested $50 billion in "loans" to keep the companies from going under.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats seem warm to the idea of fronting cash to Ford, GM, and Chrysler. She believes that the failure of one or more of the major American automobile manufacturers would have a devastating impact on our economy.

Why are the automakers in such desperate straits?

The companies blame a drop in sales due to the high costs of gasoline over the summer.

But, one reporter from NPR cites poor planning as part of the cause:

Many people, however, blame the auto companies for their own problems. U.S. automakers built high-profit sport utility vehicles, but the market for SUVs declined when gas prices spiked.

The editors at National Review Online agree, and further the complaints about the automakers:

(T)hey invested too heavily in the manufacture of sport-utility vehicles as rising oil prices spurred a demand for more fuel-efficient cars that they were unprepared to meet. (And) Uncompetitive labor contracts coupled with the rising cost of health care have left the big three with unmanageable liabilities.

Whatever the cause, why not allow the companies to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as Circuit City did recently?

Could it be that union lobbyists are pressuring Washington to keep the Big 3 out of bankruptcy court? In a bankruptcy filing could lead to a judge voiding these "uncompetitive" union contracts.

According to Wikipedia:

Some contracts, known as executory contracts, may be rejected if canceling them would be financially favorable to the company and its creditors. Such contracts include labor union contracts...

If the Big 3 automakers are in trouble because of declining sales and mis-management, let them file for bankruptcy like any other business.

After bailing out the mortgage companies, banks, insurance companies, and now the automakers, who is next, credit card companies?