The Government's Empty GM Threat

This certainly has to qualify as the most obvious empty threat of the year — at least so far this year.

From Fox, auto task-force member, Harry Wilson, testifying in the GM (GMGMQ.PK) bankruptcy hearing that the government does have a drop dead date for concluding the sale of GM (GMGMQ.PK) to “New GM”.

“We cannot make an open-ended commitment,” Wilson said in court of the looming deadline. “At one point, it’s better to cut one’s losses… We have no intention to further fund this company if the sale order is not entered by July 10.”

Further straining his credibility was this prediction:

A newly-formed General Motors entity could make an initial public offering in 2010 according to testimony from auto task force member Harry Wilson in U.S. bankruptcy court on Wednesday.

I wonder if the administration has told the UAW it may walk on the deal?

Comments

[a. palmer jr.:]

Is there really any difference between the old GM and the new GM except for a different ticker symbol and the new GM is (temporarily) out of debt?

Jul 04 12:22 AM

[casey00001:]

In the Old GM all the investors and bondholders got screwed. In the new GM the taxpayers got screwed.


On Jul 04 12:22 AM a. palmer jr. wrote:

> Is there really any difference between the old GM and the new GM
> except for a different ticker symbol and the new GM is (temporarily)
> out of debt?

Jul 04 08:49 AM

[440607:]

What ever became of the old Right to Work laws?

Jul 04 12:44 PM

[slowdown:]

quick math - let's say that the average GM worker paid $6,000.00 a year over the course of a 30 year career in federal income taxes. I beleive the last number I heard was that there were 450,000 GM retirees that the company is still supporting. That said - 450,000 retirees times $6,000.00 times 30 years is just about $81 bln. Which taxpayers are getting screwed? Those of us that earned a living and paid taxes in for those last 30 years? I think that GM employees (current and past) are just borrowing back what we already paid in.


On Jul 04 08:49 AM casey00001 wrote:

> In the Old GM all the investors and bondholders got screwed. In the
> new GM the taxpayers got screwed.

Jul 04 09:22 PM

[casey00001:]

Slowdown: The taxpayers are funding a buyout of a company that should have gone bankrupt, regardless of who its work force is. If it was non-union would you still feel the same way? This is not the Governments role in society. That role is to protect its citizens.


On Jul 04 09:22 PM slowdown wrote:

> quick math - let's say that the average GM worker paid $6,000.00
> a year over the course of a 30 year career in federal income taxes.
> I beleive the last number I heard was that there were 450,000 GM
> retirees that the company is still supporting. That said - 450,000
> retirees times $6,000.00 times 30 years is just about $81 bln. Which
> taxpayers are getting screwed? Those of us that earned a living and
> paid taxes in for those last 30 years? I think that GM employees
> (current and past) are just borrowing back what we already paid in.
>

Jul 05 10:34 AM

[3DogKnight:]

slowdown: That must be UAW logic. The money that you put in over the last 30 years has already been spent on other government programs (like roads, defence, welfare, etc, etc,) You can't borrow back money that is already spent.
GM already borrowed $27 billion over the past few years from bondholders, that it is now defaulting on, just to keep it running.

Jul 09 01:55 PM