October 15, 2012 10:59AM # If the Auto Bailout Was a Success, I’d Hate to See What a Failure Looks Like By [Daniel J. Mitchell](https://www.cato.org/people/daniel-mitchell) --- SHARE Sometimes it’s no fun to be an economist. Or, to be more specific, it’s rather frustrating to understand [Bastiat’s insight](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/excellent-video-channeling-bastiat/) about the “seen” and the “unseen” and to always be asking “at what cost?” and “to what effect?” when politicians make inane statements. The GM bailout is a good example. Politicians want us to believe that it was a success because the company is still in business. Heck, the Vice President’s favorite campaign statement is that “[Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3muMzIPQFM)” But if you’re the type of person who recognizes the importance of tradeoffs and incentives, then it’s easy to see how a political success can be an economic failure. Which is the message of this new video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation. This is music to my ears. [I’ve been saying for years](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/if-the-gm-bailout-is-obamas-definition-of-success-no-wonder-americas-heading-to-bankruptcy/) that any company can be kept afloat indefinitely with taxpayers subsidies. So [if that’s the definition of success](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/auto-bailout-cost-climbs-to-25-billion-yet-obama-thinks-it-is-a-success-and-threatens-to-do-the-same-for-other-industries/), we can party until we hit the fiscal brick wall. But that wall won’t feel good, as we can see from the fiscal chaos in Greece and other European welfare states. ![Media Name: auto-bailout-cartoon-3.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/download-remote-images/danieljmitchell.files.wordpress.com/100529553989/auto-bailout-cartoon-3.jpg?itok=PHfabrlY) But this issue involves more than just inefficient subsidies. I’m also concerned about the [corruption](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/the-link-between-big-government-and-corruption/) that inevitably exists when cronyism replaces capitalism. It’s quite likely, after all, that [GM is spending lots of money on the Chevy Volt](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/government-motors-losing-49000-for-every-chevy-volt-sold/) because of pressure from Washington rather than demand from consumers. And when you have [a car company executive endorsing higher gas taxes](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/why-is-a-car-company-ceo-urging-a-gas-tax-hike/), it’s reasonable to think that he’s currying favor with the political masters in DC rather than looking out for the best interests of drivers. The GM bailout may be a win-win situation for politicians and lobbyists, but it’s a lose-lose proposition for taxpayers and the economy. P.S. If you want some auto bailout humor, here’s a [spoof on the Chevy Volt](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/hilarious-spoof-on-the-chevy-volt/), an advertisement for the new [GM Obummer](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/gms-new-supercar-the-2011-obummer/), a couple of [good political cartoons](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/08/18/auto-bailout-humor/), and a [very funny video on the Pelosi GTxi SS/RT](http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/gms-future-the-pelosi-gtxi-ssrt/). ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).