Republican Sen. Richard Shelby seems to be one of the only real capitalists left on Capitol Hill. The Alabaman argued Wednesday that U.S. auto firms should be left to the realities of the market, letting companies like Ford, GM and Chrysler go bankrupt and forcing the failing industry to carry out what Shelby believes are much-needed reforms.


The BBC:

The United States’s biggest carmakers should be allowed to go bankrupt, a leading US politician has suggested.

Republican senator Richard Shelby said that Ford, GM and Chrysler should not get a $25bn government bail-out.

Mr Shelby said this would avoid factory closures and job cuts, and would just be “life support”.

He called for the car firms’ bosses to quit and for the companies to file for bankruptcy protection, so they could carry out much-needed reforms.

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