A Solution Unexplored
The Congress could have been in furious discussion with all the Wall Street firms and Banks that received hundred's of billions of dollars with the goal of forming a syndicate, as they routinely do, and bringing the needed credit facility/equity investment to Detroit. It is the lack of this credit/equity investment for the car makers, the dealers and the consumer that has lead us to the brink of a possible financial catastrophe.
Why wasn't the obvious move started in November? Why weren't the CEO's of these Wall Street firm's called to a meeting in Washington and slapped upside the head by all, repeat all, the leaders in Congress? I don't know.
Yet there is time between Jan. 20, 2009 and March 31, 2009 to accomplish that very task.
Banks, investment companies and Wall Street conduits could put together a longer term credit/equity facility that addresses all the issues on the table: Operating capital, dealer financing and realistic consumer financing so people can buy and lease vehicles. These types of multi-lender/equity investor syndication's are routine in the financial world. With truly large projects a single lender/investor would not take all the risk. That risk would be spread around by taking in other partners.
Why hasn't a syndicated lender/equity investment plan happened with the Big 3? The Congress hasn't tried. It's a viable plan. Someone should at least try and make it happen.
The only government involvement might be to offer asset/loan guarantees to the syndicate that should insure their creation of the syndicate.
This is the only formula that would guarantee the repayment of the authorized $15 billion on March 31, 2009. Since we've already offered $307 billion in guarantee's to just one firm on Wall Street I think this is a viable solution.