Ed Niedermeyer In Today's Wall Street Journal

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

TTAC alumni Ed Niedermeyer has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. The piece discusses the spin surrounding the bailout in this year’s campaign. Check it out here.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • George B George B on Nov 05, 2012

    The point of the Mitt Romney op ed was that General Motors and Chrysler needed restructuring as opposed to just giving them loans. The misunderstanding is people hear "bankrupt" and they think "going out of business". Instead, Chapter 11 allows some protection from creditors while the company is restructured to be successful in the future. General Motors did go bankrupt under Chapter 11, but the terms of the bankruptcy didn't go through the normal court process. I think it's fair to say that the "pre-packaged bankruptcy" terms were more generous to the UAW than what would have been hashed out in court. I think it's also fair to say that the restructuring of General Motors fell short of what's necessary for it to be fully competitive in the automotive marketplace. There is at least the appearance that politics played a major role in the restructuring deal. General Motors got restructured enough to survive past November 6, 2012 and the UAW kept it's role in handling employee and retiree benefits.

  • Vanpressburg Vanpressburg on Nov 05, 2012

    Mitt Romney: "Companies in the 21st century cannot perpetuate the destructive labor relations of the 20th.This will mean a new direction for the U.A.W.... " Mitt Romney: "It is not wrong to ask for government help, but the automakers should come up with a win-win proposition. I believe the federal government should invest substantially more in basic research — on new energy sources, fuel-economy technology, materials science and the like — that will ultimately benefit the automotive industry, along with many others. I believe Washington should raise energy research spending to $20 billion a year, from the $4 billion that is spent today. The research could be done at universities, at research labs and even through public-private collaboration." Mitt Romney understands business!!!

  • 50merc 50merc on Nov 05, 2012

    Thanks, George B and fellows, for voices of reason. Final thoughts: the 2009 federal deficit (i.e., borrowing) was $1.2 trillion. Treasury-backed bonds for GM would have found buyers, and GM's doors would have remained open. Sure, non-viable units would have been eliminated--but that's what happened anyway. If a chapter 11 would have thrown pension obligations to the PBGC, so what? That's the policy for everybody else. I can't feel sorry for a retiree who'd get $54,000 a year. If they made a lot more than that while working, they should have socked more away. As for the PBGC's financial problems, better to deal with that openly and directly. Oh, and I favor going after the auditors, credit raters and bond houses, who all helped cover up GM's scam, to recover some money for the taxpayers.

  • Sinistermisterman Sinistermisterman on Nov 05, 2012

    I can't wait until this bloody election will be over. I am sick and tired of wall to wall, 24/7 coverage of Obama vs Romney, the speeches, the half truths, the outright lies and the associated sniping and bad feeling that seems to have dominated this campaign. Besides, I am sick of all my American chums being at each others throats for the past few months. It seems what passes for 'civil' discourse has taken a massive nose dive into the realms of trolldom lately. It's a bit depressing. Calm down folks, it's just politics.

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