Point of Order: Ford HAS Taken Federal Money

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Ford applied for $11 billion dollars from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program (ATVMP). It received $5.9 billion, payable over 25 years. They are applying for another $5.1 billion. The mainstream media meme—that The Blue Oval Boyz are “pure” capitalists untainted by the stink of federal handouts—is bunk. Lest we forget, the DOE loans were the original bailout: a thinly disguised attempt to channel funds to the domestics. The money pays for retooling that the recipients would otherwise have to fund—freeing those funds for other purposes. Keep the lights on kinda stuff. When the “viability” requirement made the DOE loan a moot point for Chrysler and GM, THEN they headed off for “bridge loans.” Which became an investment in shares or, in Chrysler’s case, a partial write-off. Oops! Question: does anyone believe the DOE loans will help ensure that Americans drive more fuel-efficient vehicles? Anyway, Ford is on the take. Period.


Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • PennSt8 PennSt8 on Jul 29, 2009

    th009: My comments were not limited to recent economic events. I was speaking in general. Take the protectionist laws that Lower Saxony has on the books in relation to VW. In fact doesn't the government there own part of VW?

  • Rnc Rnc on Jul 29, 2009

    "Chrysler has already paid back some money…" Chrysler Financial is owned by Ally Bank, they have paid back TARP funds related to Chrysler Financial but this has no relationship to the Chrysler Motor Corp. or monies loaned to them. Try again.

  • Th009 Th009 on Jul 29, 2009

    PennSt8: My comments were not limited to recent economic events. I was speaking in general. Take the protectionist laws that Lower Saxony has on the books in relation to VW. In fact doesn’t the government there own part of VW? Yes, Lower Saxony owns 20%, and has done so since the company was privatized in 1960. The "VW Law" essentially gives Lower Saxony a blocking minority on major corporate decisions. (With the impending Porsche merger, this may now actually disappear.) Lower Saxony is largely a silent partner, and primarily uses the blocking minority to protect jobs in the state, home to the major VW facilities in Wolfsburg and Hannover. There are no "protectionist" laws, though -- the EU is fully open to imports, and EU generally is quite strict about prohibiting market-distorting state aid. (Though Opel seems to have squeaked past that rule ...)

  • Moparman426W Moparman426W on Mar 04, 2010

    Our government gave the transplants billions of dollars in incentives when they built plants in the south. This doesn't even count with the tax breaks they have gotten over the years.

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