Here is a piece from the Rocky Mountain News that bemoans our support for help for the U.S. auto industry. After all don't free markets --which the Chamber was started to support-- require that companies also be free to fail?

Absolutely. Companies that don't make products that people want --or can't make money doing so-- should go out of business. That is how our economy progresses.

But you have to ask yourself, why are GM, Ford and Chrysler in trouble now? If they had a failed business model, then why didn't they go out of business last year, five years ago, or in the early 1970's (after the first oil embargo)? Six months ago these companies were financially weak, but there was no fear of imminent bankruptcy.

The fact of the matter is that it is a temporary phenomenon --the credit crunch and chaos in our capital markets-- that has pushed these companies to the edge. It doesn't require a great philosophical leap toward socialism to come to the conclusion that temporary help through this difficult period is a small price to pay for maintaining a significant portion of this country's manufacturing base. This isn't special interest politics -- it's common sense.