BUCKS FOR THE "BIG THREE"

I'm watching on tv news, the "big three" automobile executives. hat in hand, begging for taxpayer money to save their companies from failure and demise. It's not their fault, you know. They manufactured products that the man in the street wanted. Or so they say.

They could have done better. They should have done better. To survive from now on, they must do better.

My memory took me back to the days when I worked in the construction trade. Economic conditions would deteriorate, available jobs would decline, and inevitably layoffs would occur.

In the front of my mind, I could rationalize my situation by blaming the economy. In the back of my mind lurked the thought that if only I had done better at my job, maybe I would still be working, and someone else would be down and out. I believe that this also applies to the car makers. If only they had done better, they wouldn't be groveling before Congress and begging for help.