Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Abraham Group, LLC
Position:
Pro to the question "Should the Big Three car manufacturers be bailed out by the US government?"
Reasoning:
"For those concerned about the potential price of a federal bailout for Detroit -- and I'm one of them -- the reality is that this cost would be dwarfed by the long-term spillover costs of bankruptcy and liquidation. Nearly three million jobs would be lost in the first year if all three car companies closed and their suppliers absorbed the shock, according to the Center for Automotive Research. That would mean tens of billions of dollars in pension liabilities would be transferred to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the federal insurance fund that protects the pensions of nearly 44 million American workers but already has a $10.7 billion deficit...
If we let any of the Big Three go bankrupt, we will set in motion a chain of events that will cause us, in six months, to ask again: How did we let this happen?"
"For Detroit, Chapter 11 Would Be the Final Chapter," New York Times, Nov. 24, 2008
Experts
Individuals with JDs, PhDs, other relevant advanced degrees, CEO's of major car manufacturing companies, and government officials with significant involvement in, or related to, automotive, business, and bankruptcy issues. [Note: Experts definition varies by site]
Involvement and Affiliations:
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), The Abraham Group, LLC
Member, Board of Directors, Occidental Petroleum
Non-Executive Chairman, AREVA, Inc.
Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
Contributor of op-ed articles to the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Weekly Standard and other publications
Guest commentator on FOX News, FOX Business, CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg
10th US Secretary of Energy under President George W. Bush, 2001-2004
US Senator (R-MI), 1995-2001
Co-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), 1991-1993
Deputy Chief of Staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, 1990-1991
Chairman, Michigan Republican Party, 1983-1990
Co-founder, Federalist Society, Harvard University
