Why Auto Bailout More Resisted Than Bank Rescue

And while the automakers scream that they can't be allowed to go bankrupt, look at Lehman Brothers. Its assets tower over GM's. Many employees lost their jobs, but several units got picked up. Guess which ones? The profitable ones.

GM says its financing arm GMAC can't access the credit markets in order to get cash to lend to consumers to buy its cars. OK, how about the Fed buy some GMAC commercial paper? There's a way to access some TARP money through the Commercial Paper Funding Facility. Done. Money for customer's car loans.

But does that solve the problem? No, because even when GM was selling 1.5 million cars a month, it still wasn't profitable. The company currently has a debt-to-capital ratio of 500%. Too much debt and not enough profit.

How about selling assets? GM admits that its Saturn unit hasn't performed up to expectations. So it's going to try to sell it. Now? In these capital markets? GM had to have known that Saturn wasn't doing well, so why didn't it dump it on some poor unsuspecting private-equity firm like Cerberus when money was cheap? Poor business decisions, that's why.

Why have companies like Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch(MER Quote), Washington Mutual, Wachovia and National City gotten bought up?

Because even with their warts, they can still make money. The buyers waited until the prices hit rock bottom and then reached for the checkbook. Smart business decisions. Vultures, perhaps, but that is the name of the game in business. Making money. Something the automakers have lost sight of.