Dear Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ I would like to respond to the yesterday’s editorial ‘U.S. automakers… Dear Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ I would like to respond to the yesterday’s editorial ‘U.S. automakers don’t deserve a bailout.’ There is one key point with which I take issue, and that is the assertion that ‘… unlike a bailout of the banking industry, bailing out Detroit auto companies isn’t a permanent solution …’ The editorial goes on to say that because financial institutions just deal with the movement and trade of money, giving them more money will solve the problem. The financial crisis was catalyzed by bankers, whether maliciously motivated or not, selling mortgages to people that couldn’t afford them. That type of risky, greedy behavior is not going to be alleviated by throwing money at it. Money will not offer a permanent solution (as proposed by the editorial) to the underlying problem of the financial industry being manipulative, or at best, shortsighted. ‘ ‘ ‘ I agree that the auto-makers should be required to invest heavily in more sustainable options and shift their strategies (which their loans as approved by Congress are supposed to be contingent on), but the statement, ‘… The prospect of these companies potentially going bankrupt shouldn’t change the principles on which the American economy is built, even if it means sacrificing some venerable companies,’ is entirely too black and white. We’re on the brink of a depression. Ford, G.M. and Chrysler going bankrupt would mean hundreds of thousands of jobs lost, not only people that are working hard in factories, but those businesses surrounding the big three, like restaurants, bars, etc., which will fold as well. That would essentially mean wiping out the middle class of an entire area, which could have a domino effect. I don’t think that’s something that the country wants right now, whether or not they ‘deserve’ a bailout. I’d love to know what criteria you’d give for the financial industry ‘deserving’ a bailout. The bottom line is, it’s necessary right now. Erika Kiah Business Marketing