As GM's cash flow slows, the "bailout versus bankruptcy" debate is picking up speed. The outgoing Bush administration is opposed; Congressional Democrats, and apparently the incoming Obama administration, are for it.

I've argued against it, too, fwiw, but here's an alternative viewpoint that's worth considering. Obviously, bankruptcy leads to a lot of new problems.

For the record, it's not that I think bankruptcy is a good idea; it's just that a straight-up bailout under the Treasury Dept.'s TARP would do little to address GM's (and Chrysler's and Ford's) fundamental problems. (A "bailout" also presents ethical dilemmas for some of us, but that's a separate consideration.)