Bailout Watch 534: Feds to Give Post-C11 GM $30 Billion

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Anyone out there keeping track of how much money the federal government has plowed into GM, as the automaker downsizes to death? The Washington Post reckons that the next post-bankruptcy tranche—the debtor-in-possession financing needed to cleave GM into “good” and “bad” bits and keep both balls in the air—will be $30 billion. The paper also claims that this will bring taxpayer’s contributions to $45 billion. The $15 billion difference, originally sold as a “bridge loan”? Forgiven. Gone. In exchange for their largesse, “the government plans to take at least 50 percent of the restructured company . . . and the right to name members to its board of directors, as it has at Chrysler, where the government will control four of nine seats.” Although this bailout madness began last year, if we use IHS Global Insight’s recently recalculated GM production figures (GM will build 1.7 million vehicles this year), $45 billion represents a federal contribution of $26,470 per car. That’s provided you don’t add-in Uncle Sam’s $13.5 billion “investment” in automotive lender GMAC. And all the other stuff.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Bertel Schmitt Bertel Schmitt on May 23, 2009

    Baruth for President!

  • Landcrusher Landcrusher on May 23, 2009

    Bertel, I was thinking the same thing.

  • Cleek Cleek on May 23, 2009

    So using the numbers provided, the borrowed monies [s]pissed down a rat hole[/s] spent and further required are sufficient to purchase all of [s]GM's[/s] PM's forecasted annual production at the average retail transaction price.

  • Robert.Walter Robert.Walter on May 23, 2009

    Funny, the virtual debt car is passing, the fastest previous debt car, on the left, only slightly faster than JB claims to do on the right; the only difference in approach is philosophy vs. psychopathy ... and maybe, in its application, there is no difference.

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