Is this the end?

Is the bailout the final act of a dying business? Not quite, but it is the sign of an industry that has given up hope.

Take the auto industry… please! (hahaha… um…) Fer real, though, GM, Chrysler and Ford are in a heap of trouble. Only GM and Chrysler took the gov’t cash, though. Ford just keeps ticking along on its own steam. Make of it what you will, but which company do you reckon is the one that will still be around in five years? I have my bets.

On to newspapers, though. The state of Washington is slashing its tax rate for paper publishers by 40 percent. That comes on top of Congressional hearings and much talk of how the government can help save the newspaper biz.

I dislike this on two levels: One, I want the government as distant from the people who report on them as possible (for obvious reasons). Two, the news isn't suffering... newsPAPERs are. I'd agree to a change if there were a dearth of information out there, but reporting is arguably as robust as it has ever been, it's just that there are different people doing it and we're all still struggling with how to pay for it.

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