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Bailout Watch 527: $80 Billion. And Counting.
by
Edward Niedermeyer
(IC: employee)
Published: May 11th, 2009
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Time did the math, and reports that the total cost of the recent wave of automotive industry “assistance” has reached $83 billion. With Chrysler’s bankruptcy not going well (286,687 2009 models and 36,370 2008 models languishing on lots, according to Fortune) and GM about to join it in court, that number will top $100 million by the end of the summer. GM bondholders are also requesting something more than ten percent of New GM’s equity to give up their debt. And guess who’ll pay for that? Meanwhile, a lousy $4 million in federal emergency grants are going to assist Michigan’s autoworkers who have been laid off by the industry.
Edward Niedermeyer
More by Edward Niedermeyer
Published May 11th, 2009 6:04 PM
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If we just shut down GM and Chrysler and sent the money straight to the employees ...
I predicted a bill of 200 billion when they went to D.C. in their jets - now I think we'll be racing past that before all involved realize it's a lost cause It's a sinkhole, without end. The automobile equation does not compute any more and needs to be reexamined. They might as well spend the money on retraining everyone as cobblers. There's money to be made on redoing how we move across the ground, from the ground up.
$80B ? C'mon, who's counting? It's just money...