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What's your SPECIFIC suggestion, George?
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Unfortunately there may be no solution in the sense of "saving"
GMC, Ford, American, Delta, Northwestern, Boeing, Lockheed, etc.
etc. etc. All appear to be in the same situation as were the
steel companies, i.e. terminal H.I.V. patients. Like the typical
HIV patent, these companies sought immediate gratification at the
expense of their long-term survivability, using credit to support
their "lifestyle," using derivatives as their "crack cocaine."

Congress is currently nibbling around the edges of this critical
problem by holding hearings into the possible impact on the PBGC
if one or more of these companies/sectors should collapse. The
problem is that it is a question of "when," and "in what
sequence," *NOT* if.

Most of the underlying real assets such as physical plant, tools
and dies, knowledge base, customer base, and production/operation
expertise appear to be largely intact although obsolescent.
However, these have been "submerged" under mountains of debt and
neglect while "management" chased the latest fad, dissipating any
real income while not paying stock holder dividends nor
reinvesting in new products, equipment, etc. in their
core/foundational business. Additionally, these "assets" have
significant value only for an on-going business.

While automobile/truck manufacturing, and the design, production
and operation of jumbo civilian aircraft appears to be
economically viable in the United States, it does not appear the
existing cadre management (and corporate culture) of these
organizations is capable.

"Desperate situations demand desperate remedies" is a time-proven
adage. Given the disastrous impact that the cascading failures of
these major players will have on the U.S. economy/society, I
propose a "super bankruptcy court" be created to establish the
likely economic viability of these organizations, with immediate
liquidation (Chapt. 7) [not reorganization (Chapt. 11)] of those
unlikely to survive, with a 10 year suspension from any
management position of the current and previous corporate
executives and directors. (The stockholders have already lost
all their equity, although they might not yet realize this.)

The PBGC should have priority claim on any assets for full
pension funding, and any trust-fund/lockboxes established for
management retirement benefits and/or "differed compensation"
should be recaptured on the basis that this was an attempt to
conceal corporate assets.

The choice is not between a "good" and better" solution, but
between a "bad" and a "worse" solution.