It looks increasingly likely that Detroit is going to get its wish for $25 billion worth of low interest loans from the government. This is unsurprising, of course, as it would be very tough for Congress to deny the Big 3 while at the same time it's rushing to work out the details of a rescue of the financial markets that could possibly top the $1 trillion mark.

That's the rub with intervention, isn't it: Where to draw the line? The airline industry is in a shambles. Why shouldn't it expect the federal government to extend the same sort of deal?

But there's also the issue of oversight. Congress doesn't appear willing to give a blank check to the Treasury without some sort of oversight in return. Is the government also going to have oversight as to how Detroit spends the taxpayers' money?

Perhaps more importantly, has Detroit demonstrated to the government - as it would have to do with any other lending institution - that it has a sound plan for turning around its operations and becoming profitable? If not, taxpayers are simply being used to extend the life of a patient that's destined to die anyway. GM and Ford lost a combined $24 billion in the second quarter of this year. Is there any reason to believe they won't burn through another $25 billion of our money at the same rate?