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Dr. Raynor teaches finance at the State University of New York at Delhi, and is periodically a visiting professor at Universidad Catholica Santo Toribio De Mogrovejo in Peru. He has worked on a number of projects in other areas of Latin America, and was also a visiting professor in China. He is especially interested in international trade and labor issues, and has previous private sector experience in the banking industry.

Many people are familiar with the Biblical passage in Luke about the prodigal son. A father had two sons. The younger one requested his share of his inheritance early but squandered it [Luke 15: 11-13].

Is General Motors (GM) the prodigal son of our economy? Certainly a case could be made that GM also squandered many opportunities.

The younger brother eventually returned to his father when he had no more options [Luke 15: 18]. He has been known to history as the "prodigal son."

GM also ran out of money and sought government assistance when it ran out of options.

The prodigal son was humbled and brought to his knees before his father. GM was humbled and brought to its knees when it recently filed for bankruptcy.

When he returned, the prodigal son's father had compassion for him [Luke 15: 20]. GM received compassion via the bailouts.

The prodigal son was reconciled with his father and learned a valuable lesson.

Has GM learned a valuable lesson? Can GM be reconciled as a car company for a global economy entering a new era?

This Biblical passage is not just about the prodigal son, however. It is also about the older brother who could not understand why his father forgave his younger brother. The older brother was angry because he had followed all the rules [Luke 15: 29]. It appeared to him that his younger brother was being rewarded for doing the wrong thing. Many people also feel that GM has been rewarded via the bailout for doing the wrong things.

The father explained to the older brother that it was a time for joy because his younger brother "was lost but is now found" (Luke 15: 32]. Does GM now have the ability from government assistance and restructuring through bankruptcy to find its way?

The younger brother may have sinned against his father, but the older brother was wrong also. He was too caught up in what he did right to notice the big picture his father was talking about [Luke 15: 29]. GM too may have transgressed, but are many people, like the older brother, not noticing the big picture about what kind of car company is needed for a sustainable economy?

In my BNWW column last December on the auto industry, I wrote, "Why do we give financial institutions/insurance companies hundreds of billions of dollars, but hesitate so much for saving the industry that can turn our economy around? Do we really want to let the industry collapse with GM so close to putting the groundbreaking Chevrolet Volt on the market? Do we really want to quit now with so much at stake?"

We should not give up on GM. We should be more optimistic. With patience, GM can build the cars that are needed for the future. Given a chance, GM cannot only be reconciled with the economy, it can lead it again.

If GM occasionally strays, guidance can be provided. For example, the government recently nudged GM into building cars here in the U.S., instead of importing them from China. Like the father of the two sons who has the big picture in mind, General Motors can be guided towards enhancing the public interest.

While this represents an increased level of government intervention, we are living in an extraordinary time. It is not unprecedented, though. We've done it before.

During World War II we put the auto manufactures on a war footing in order to produce military equipment. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote about this in his book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: "Everyone had to sacrifice and everyone had to participate, from 'Rosie the Riveter' to your grandparents in their victory garden to General Motors being told by Franklin Roosevelt that it had to make tanks instead of cars" (Friedman, page 403).

If we told GM to build equipment that was needed for WWII, what is wrong with telling GM to build equipment that is needed for the new economy? This seems especially true since we, the taxpayers, have invested so much. If we told General Motors to build equipment that was needed for WWII, what is wrong with telling GM to build cars here, instead of in China?

Like the older brother, we should not dwell too much on the past. Being obsessed about the previous transgressions of GM will get us nowhere. For our own economic well-being, we must concentrate on the big picture: what is right for the future. If we fall into the trap of the unforgiving older brother, we will fail to see our potential.