GM Bailout/ Chapter 11

[MechanicForBrown]

So, here it is today June 1st, 2009 and General Motors has finally filed chapter 11 protection! Why couldn't our great government have forced this to happen before giving out 20 Billion to the #1 car manufacturer in the world!

I am very upset at the government for the decisions they have made in what I call " The Bailout for the people, by the people " This is so very wrong that the gov spent our money so freely and for what? Our we ever going to recoup our $? I don't see that happening, our government will now have a 60% stake in the company! I heard a radio host say this morning that this is an investment for the government!

When I heard this I PUKED!!!! Business 101, if a company cannot produce a profit for a couple of years you DO NOT invest, let it go down the toilet! Only do you invest in a company that is currently profitable and has been and is still going to be in the years to come!

I think it is wrong for any government or government agency to interfere into any private sector/ company EVER! This will prove to hurt the American people and the government just has one more card in their deck to play. YOU can only buy this type of car, you can't smoke here, you can't drink there, you must pay more tax here, etc....... Kiss my round (Very) ass-cheek!!!!! Am I wrong to say that I smell a touch of Communism?

What is the thoughts of you guy's and gals on the BC?

 

[Catatonic]

I think it is wrong for any government or government agency to interfere into any private sector/ company EVER! This will prove to hurt the American people and the government just has one more card in their deck to play. YOU can only buy this type of car, you can't smoke here, you can't drink there, you must pay more tax here, etc....... Kiss my round (Very) ass-cheek!!!!! Am I wrong to say that I smell a touch of Communism?

What is the thoughts of you guy's and gals on the BC?

Careful now ... GM is a union company with massive retirement benefits outstanding and indirectly affecting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

I don't like it either but what happens to the retirees and the unemployed? Might have been cheaper for teh government to absorb the retiree benefits and assistance for the unemployed but that could be as much or more than what the governement has outlayed. And this is hopefully, more like a leveraged loan where we get the money back like with Chrysler back in the 80's.

 

[iowa boy]

Careful now ... GM is a union company with massive retirement benefits outstanding and indirectly affecting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

I don't like it either but what happens to the retirees and the unemployed? Might have been cheaper for teh government to absorb the retiree benefits and assistance for the unemployed but that could be as much or more than what the governement has outlayed. And this is hopefully, more like a leveraged loan where we get the money back like with Chrysler back in the 80's.

I will be very interested in how this turns out. Will the feds sell its share back when GM becomes profitable again, or will it truly become "government motors" where its daily operations are controlled by the government? Who knows, maybe this is a test run for nationalized health care Obama wants to implement also.
Another question though too, if congress passes the tax on health care benefits, will GM have to pay this tax? (as they are goverment owned).

 

[brett636]

MechanicforBrown- You hit the nail on the head. The government should have kept out of this situation. The government should have left the free market to work how its designed to work. The government should have let GM file for bankruptcy back in December and let them work out a restructuring plan on their own. Although that is not what the government is about today. Today the government is about nationalizing, socializing, and controlling every major industry they can get their grubby little hands on. Barack Obama and his minions are all about control, and getting as much of it as they can. I do not foresee GM becoming anything less than government motors. Cars designed by the government for the people, and anyone who wishes to drive something different will find themselves paying more in taxes for those cars, or not allowed to purchase them at all. The government can't run amtrak, it can't operate the postal service, so what makes anyone think the government can run a car company? The answer is it cannot, and as taxpayers we now have another entity that will be forever be supported and fed with our tax dollars. Its only a matter of time before GM is thought of as another government agency and not a free market company.

 

[MechanicForBrown]

Careful now ... GM is a union company with massive retirement benefits outstanding and indirectly affecting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

I don't like it either but what happens to the retirees and the unemployed? Might have been cheaper for the government to absorb the retiree benefits and assistance for the unemployed but that could be as much or more than what the government has outplayed. And this is hopefully, more like a leveraged loan where we get the money back like with Chrysler back in the 80's.

Point taken hoax, but lets say for example the government never stepped in too begin with. Then what would happen? .... GM would have no option than to file chapter 11 right? and by doing that they would have shed Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, Hummer and Opel in Europe and then close many plants in the US and then all this would result in way too many job losses right? Sounds no different than what is happening now, It is JMHO.

So therefore I don't like that the gov is going to give a total of 50 BILLION to GM and then how long for us tax payers to get that money back? And our we going to see any benefit if we go to purchase a GM vehicle? I doubt it!

Business' start up and fail all the time, sometimes they fail many years after inception, but it is the world of economics my friend and job loss just goes with the territory. But don't get me wrong at all, I don't want fellow union workers or even non union workers to loose there jobs but there is nothing we can do, If General Motors was run allot better than it was and they watched there wasteful spending and management salaries and didn't have so many of the same models through out there fleet It might not have been so bad.

And lets not forget, the UAW isn't so Innocent either, they where very apprehensive about making concessions to try to reduce the job loss. Also, I am a mechanic in the IAM here and I have a learned skill, I went to college to learn how to repair vehicles, most UAW workers need nothing more than a High School Diploma and then they can make 30-40 an hour? thats pretty nice! so I think the compensation they receive is pretty damn good! I make less as a mechanic for UPS and I went to college and then spent 15k on tools to do my job and I'm happy as a pig in-****, I don't feel so much when they cry about there salaries, I don't see where they work harder than any mechanic or Driver here at UPS.

 

[Scanthis]

Lets see the government runs the schools and our education system is in the toilet. The gov runs Social Security and that will be bankrupt soon enough. Guess who runs the post office? How about medicade/medicare?So now the government is in the car business. I love my GM SUV but next time I get a new car I will be asking myself, "have I driven a Ford lately?"

 

[Babagounj]

Alas Scanthis, with GM & Chrysler being back by uncle sam's deep pockets just how long will ford be around ?

 

[JimJimmyJames]

I would be inclined to agree with the stance that the government shouldn't have bailed them out. But the government, in my belief, had a hand in their destruction with ill considered trade policies.

Regardless, if we can give billions and billions of dollars to foreign countries in aid every year, can't we give a little to American workers?

Hey, if we are going to throw money down rat holes, at least I would feel better if it's for our rats (with all due respect) .

 

[moreluck]

Heard this morning that someone is buying Hummer.......no name was mentioned.

 

[Babagounj]

Hopefully a truck company.

 

[wkmac]

I would be inclined to agree with the stance that the government shouldn't have bailed them out. But the government, in my belief, had a hand in their destruction with ill considered trade policies.

Jimmy,

I wonder if we really looked close at that trade policy and all the workings going on around it would we still hold that GM as well as the other makes were just innocent victims of bad gov't trade policy?

Or was it that GM and the other makes had lobbyists pushing gov't to make these agreements as they saw a chance to use gov't on global scale to dominate foreign markets but instead they made poor choices themselves and became victims of their own version of blowback or unintended consequences?

The Big Gov't Rubyicon was crossed a very long time ago, you might say even before the Constitutional ink was even dry but it has achieved near light speed in the 20th century and President Bush and now President Obama seemed together to break the illusive light speed bearer of gov't reach as we gave birth to the Amerikan 21st century.

Where will it end? I honestly don't think it does or will and the only real opposition to this stuff only comes in the form of cults of personality as this all becomes a contest between democrats and republicans. Democrats hold the obvious edge now and the screaming banchees are out in force. Yet last spring, when Bush started his own bailout plan, the roles were reversed and oddly enough, bothsides were literally silent when Bush sent out the stimulus checks.

So it's not really about what some call socialism or big gov't, it hinges down on just who happens to control it at the time.

So long Lady Liberty, what short life you had was oh so sweet and so full of promise.

 

[JimJimmyJames]

I have to agree, one cannot solely blame the government for GM's demise. Especially when you consider that the elites who run our corporations are the same ones pulling the government's strings.

As to your link, look at that my fellow Americans, as we are mired in recession our government is giving billions of dollars to other countries. And spending billions more to subjucate them.

 

[wkmac]

BTW Jimmy, Ralph Nader has some interesting comments here which you might find of interest.

No way of proving at this time that GM is planning to ship itself to China but one thing that saved Buick from the axe that befell Olds and Pontiac is that Buicks are selling strong in China. With gov't owning a majority stake in what was GM along with another 12% owned by the Canadian gov't, it won't be to hard for what's left of the private GM to dump itself off and then flee American shores.

Also President Obama can use his new power as carmake owner to develop a new line of cars that reflect his policy. The question is, does he do so and then let those cars compete head to head with the other makes or does he use public policy to monopolize the American market and thus force out the remaining non-gov't car makes, ie Ford and the foreign jobs?

Be interesting to watch and the question may come up about making Americans buy these cars an then it gets real interesting!

I also wonder what will become of the iconic Corvette?

 

[over9five]

Heard this morning that someone is buying Hummer.......no name was mentioned.

Szechuan who??

 

[moreluck]

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. took a key step toward its downsizing on Tuesday, striking a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese manufacturer, while also revealing that it has potential buyers for its Saturn and Saab brands. GM has an agreement to sell its Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. of China, said a person briefed on the deal.

 

[tieguy]

Szechuan who??

their going to make the cutest little hummers.

 

[Catatonic]

... little hummers.

Who can I talk to about getting a hummer?

 

[Babagounj]

1-617-779-3469
ask for howie

 

[iowa boy]

1-617-779-3469
ask for howie

OOPS!!! Dirty mind here, i was thinkin maybe he should consult with his wife before he goes any farther.

 

[over9five]

OOPS!!! Dirty mind here, i was thinkin maybe he should consult with his wife before he goes any farther.

I'm sure he's already tried that.



I know I have