Romney recommends tough love for Big 3

NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Mitt Romney didn't just kick the tires of America's Big Three automakers Wednesday, he kicked them in the rear end, saying bankruptcy is better than a bailout.

Under the headline "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," Romney wrote in an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times that if Congress throws the sinking automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- a bailout bucket of money "you can kills the American automotive industry goodbye."

"It won't go overnight," the Detroit-born former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential contender wrote, "but its demise will be virtually guaranteed."

Instead, Romney says tough love is needed to save the American cars he says he loves.

He recommends the Big Three get the labor unions to accept pay and benefit structures in line with overseas car makers, which he says would save Detroit about $2,000 a car.

He also says "management as is must go," along with expensive perks and executives should share in the financial pain.

Washington, he said, should help by putting more money into basic research.

"But don't ask Washington to give shareholders and bondholders a free pass -- they bet on management and they lost," Romney wrote. "A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk."