"Obama's Auto Plan Is Capitalism At Work" or Not

The WSJ.com has an article written by Scott Sperling titled "Obama's Auto Plan Is Capitalism at Work". We have been saying since November 6, 2008 that the government needs to force a prepackaged bankruptcy at the auto companies to improve the cost structures and to reduce the leverage before tossing away precious taxpayer money. The Obama administration did just that as Mr. Sperling articulated. We agree with most of his article except for how the banks were treated in the Chrysler situation. The strong arming of banks, especially those with TARP money, and the public lambasting of the money managers who were trying to get their fair share was not capitalism as we know it. Nobody would benefit in liquidation. Perhaps the banks would have received less than 29 cents on the dollar but the unions and their pension plan and health plans would have wound up with nothing. The government was right to force a restructuring where everyone took some pain but the unions who had subordinated claims to the banks didn't deserve a bigger piece of the pie than the banks. The conclusion can only mean Socialism defeated Capitalism.