When Uncle Lends a Hand

Federal bailouts of near bankrupt companies were all but unheard of prior to 1970. Since then there have been several examples of last-minute largesse from Uncle Sam. Among the most spectacular cases:

Chrysler. The 1970s energy crisis left Detroit's third-largest automaker almost out of gas. The company was slow to convert to fuel-efficient small cars and faced increasingly tough opposition from both the Big Two and Japan; by mid-1979, Chrysler had accumulated nearly $500 million in losses, as well as the industry's largest backlog of unsold vehicles. Chairman Lee Iacocca, hired shortly after being fired as president of Ford, went to Washington...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!