Auto company execs had to be biting their tongues when they were on Capitol Hill to plead for their mere survival.

Their fates resting in the hands of Congress, I watched the smug congressmen and later the senators take their shots. The execs were criticized for their poor management, flying up the first time in corporate jets, having huge legacy costs, and being out of touch with what customers want to drive. The whole time the execs humbly sat there and took it.

The problem is, the same group that berated the auto execs could have passed regulations that could have prevented the whole financial meltdown. The government's legacy costs include the national debt, Social Security, government pensions -- not to mention a yearly budget deficit approaching $1 trillion dollars. That includes the $350 billion bailout earmarked for the financial industry, granted with little constraints, that was supposed to provide the liquidity that would have normally provided bridge loans to the auto companies. Instead, the banks are too busy pumping up their balance sheets and trying to change the accounting standards.

If my history is right, the way we got out of the last depression was WWII, and we may need the manufacturing capacity for the next war effort.

Don Coulter, Augusta