And while railroads had begun to lose their luster, they were still carrying more tonnage than ever before in their history The railroads had business at their

And while railroads had begun to lose their luster, they were still carrying more tonnage than ever before in their history The railroads had business at their door but were unable to run an efficient operation. By contrast, the auto industry has seen demand drop from 15M cars/year to under 10. Also, the railroads were tied down to losing operations by government regulation. The auto industry doesn't have this problem yet, but mandatory CAFE regulations could have a similar effect. The government can help auto industries by lending them money as a debtor in possession for a bankruptcy. If GM entered bankruptcy without government backing, no one would lend them money to restructure further and they would be forced to liquidate. I am from Detroit and have seen how the UAW and the Big Three single-handedly created the middle class. But having worked in the Rouge Plant for a summer, I agree that people don't deserve to be middle-class for unskilled labor. The only way to break this view may be a bankruptcy.