The Venture Edge

My wife and I have been having an ongong discussion about the current national debate on some sort of government-provided universal health care. She comes down firmly on the side of "The current system works so there's no need to fix it." Lately, however, I haven't been so sure that it really works.

I can't let the bankruptcy of General Motors go by without comment. Yesterday was truly a sad day for what was once the largest and most powerful U.S. corporation. According to its bankruptcy filing, the company has assets of $82.3 billion and debts of $172.8 billion. That is a going-out-of-business plan if I've ever seen one. While the company is not going out of business -- yet -- it is embarking on a major cost-cutting campaign. This campaign includes letting go of 25,000 employees, closing 17 factories and parts centers, and getting rid of 2,400 of its 6,000 dealers across the country. GM has been a part of the Dow Jones industrial average since 1925. No longer.