What is going on?

Today's New York Times (NYT) is reporting that GM told the federal government it needs

to increase its loan request to $30 billion, $12 billion more than it had initially sought, to avoid a bankruptcy filing.

At the same time GM announced it

planned to cut 47,000 jobs out of a total of 244,000 around the world by the end of the year. About 20,000 of the job losses will come in the United States, as well as five more plant closings beyond those previously announced.

What is the point of a bailout during a fiscal crisis that results in tens of thousands of jobs lost? The only way to approach the fiscal crisis is to think in terms of the actual lives of working families. Ridiculous paper bailouts that provide billions to corporations so they can be on a better footing for their rich investors while slashing jobs is a travesty of the crisis that is devastating the lives of millions of working people today.