Bailout Watch 397: White House Grants GM $4B Bailout Bucks Ahead of Viability Plan
The fix is in. Even before GM pressed “send” on their viability plan to Congress—justifying their additional call on the public purse—the Obama administration has decided to offer the ailing automaker the second tranche of a Bush-initiated $17.4B federal loan. That’s $4B to you and me. Literally. Reuters reports that “an aide” signaled the pre-approval approval. The Houston Chronicle carries a Bloomberg story that repeats the claim, citing “a person familiar with the plan.” If this story checks out, it’s a slap in the face of accountability; for both GM AND our elected representatives. Yes, the second check was scheduled for payment, but the timing and the disconnect is still startling. Here’s some more money, now let’s have a look at that plan for profitability by 2011. Oh and if we don’t like it, we’ll call the loan and down you go. In truth, no matter which way this goes, we’ll never see that money again. Nor the money after that.
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I do feel sorry for Ford - they are in a 4-legged race (that's what I assume you'd call a 3-legged race with 3 people) with 2 dead guys tied to them. I'm surprised the market and the media are treating the impending "plans" with such skepticism. I'm guessing that the only way to make the reality of the plans any worse would be to have Tim Geithner announce them.
windswords said: Bush is sooo 2000-2008. It’s now 2009. You don’t like that the Soft Drink is not getting some slack 1 month into his admin? Welcome to the big leagues! George was criticised constantly from day one. I never saw a rule that said we wern’t supposed to “bring it up”. Oh yeah? Before 911, no one paid much attention to GWB. After 911, those who "brought it up" all ended up in Guantanamo.
RetardedSparks said: I do feel sorry for Ford - they are in a 4-legged race (that’s what I assume you’d call a 3-legged race with 3 people) with 2 dead guys tied to them. I agree. In a free market economy, GM and Chrysler will go bankrupt. Ford will have all the conquest sales it can possibly want and won't worry for the next 30 years. Now that GM is kept on life support, and Ford is being squeezed into the same fate as GM. In a free market, all you need is to live one day longer than your rival. In this communist states of America, you need to be invincible to survive. Or, why not just join the soup line?