What's another $25 billion among friends? Compared with $700 billion, it's chump change, right?

Such appears to be the attitude in Washington after passage of a massive spending bill that includes $25 billion in low-interest government loans for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. The Detroit Three package dwarfs the Chrysler bailout of 1979, which was a mere $1.2 billion. And it passed largely unnoticed as the much larger question of bailing out financial institutions provided cover. President Bush signed the bill Tuesday.

Let's be clear: There is little danger of the American economy falling into depression if any of the Big Three fail. It would be difficult if they ceased to exist, for their workers foremost and for the economy of Michigan and much of the upper Midwest, which relies on auto-related industries. No one wants this to happen. But catastrophic to the nation as a whole? No. In fact, such a failure might well force the survivors to innovate more rapidly. Over time, it could be a blessing.

And the plan to bail out the Detroit automakers differs markedly from the U.S. Treasury's plan to buy up distressed securities from financial institutions.

The Treasury's plan is based on a clear danger to the overall economy. Credit is rapidly tightening as banks cut back on making loans and park their money in ultra-safe investments. Businesses are feeling the pinch first, but individuals are beginning to feel it, too. Without the lubrication of credit, the gears of business cannot function, and there is reasonable fear that the economy will grind to a halt without government action. The risks simply aren't the same if the Big Three fail.

Backers claim that the loans will help automakers build more fuel-efficient cars. But isn't the market already telling GM, Ford and Chrysler to do that? And what makes Congress qualified to pick winners in the auto industry? The automakers will survive if they innovate and bring to market products that the public wants to buy — which they have failed to do for years.

But here's the worst part: The automakers hope to shake even more cash out of Washington. Chief enabler John Dingell, a Democratic representative from suburban Detroit, says "we will be starting on the second $25 billion."

Sorry, congressman, but the first $25 billion was a mistake. Let's not make the same mistake again.

REPRINTED FROM THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL.