Just as the banks were pressured and sued to make bad loans, and vilified if they didn't, so GM et al. were more and more obliged to engage in doomed business practices. Where else on earth would one have to pay 90% of full pay to someone who was laid off or furloughed? Who expects a business to survive when Congress requires it to build cars people don't want?
Among the many things contributing to what may be the demise of the Big Three is creeping socialism.
What cars are these? The congress inplemented a tax code that gave the consumer a 100% credit on taxes if you bought a vehicle with a GVW of 6000 pounds and used it in business. The SUV and Truck craze took off in the last couple of years. There is still a 100% tax credit this year for that. Almost everyone I worked with bought a truck or SUV these last few years. I work in the real estate industry do alot of business with builders. If the truck or SUV cost $50,000 brand new, remember it had to be brand new, you could deduct $50,000 from your $100,000 or $200,000 gross schedule C wages.
Did congress with their tax code help to seal the fate of the detroit auto makers, "making the cars people didn't want"?