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General Motors (GM) passed Ford to become the leading seller of vehicles to the U.S. government...
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Tuesday, January 8, 9:28 AM ETGeneral Motors (GM) passed Ford to become the leading seller of vehicles to the U.S. government as it now claims a market share of 38.7% compared to 21.4% for its rival. The trend will be closely watched with the Treasury Department set to sell off its stake in GM, although the automaker steadily maintains it won its contracts through aggressive bidding.
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Govt --> bailout --> GM
GM --> political and financial paybacks --> Govt
Govt --> sales --> GM
http://bit.ly/xvLyJp
http://bit.ly/wX7bKf
http://bit.ly/10ci4db
If you don't know the difference between a loan and bailout then I question your financial acumen.
If the government forgave these loans to Ford then you would have made your point.
GM is the worst example of corporate cronyism in this country's history. Bailed out the unions and screwed the taxpayers and everyone else.
Go Ford! I will never buy a Government Motors product again.
"Ford Motor Co. plunged for the second straight year in Consumer Reports' survey of auto reliability and now ranks near the bottom of the annual scorecard."
"The Ford brand finished 27th out of the 28 brands rated in the latest report, after dropping to 20th from No. 10 last year. Lincoln fell to 26th from 14th."
"No. 11 Cadillac was the highest-rated domestic brand, gaining 14 places. General Motors' other brands -- GMC (13th), Chevrolet (15th) and Buick (21st) -- all improved as well."
http://bit.ly/Sunt99
The bailout gave nothing new to the union — only more take-backs. Second-tier wages were frozen for the life of the contract, at half the pay of workers hired before September 2007. Language whereby lower-paid workers might at some time move into higher-paying, “traditional” positions was eliminated.
The Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association was set up to fund retiree health benefits and relieve the company of any future retiree health care costs prior to the Bankruptcies. The Bush Treasury had demanded that GM’s and Chrysler’s cash obligation to the VEBA be reduced by 50 percent and the other half given in company stock. This is how the VEBA became part owner of GM and Chrysler. It’s not like President Obama gave them something for nothing.
The VEBA was already a gamble, with its investments subject to fluctuations on Wall Street. In 2009, GM and Chrysler stock was valued at zero. By having the lump sum payment to the VEBA cut in half, the Treasury increased the risk that the health fund would go bankrupt, leaving retirees without coverage. Moreover, the loan terms now gave the new company 20 years to pay its cash obligation, putting the fund further in jeopardy.
Seems to me the union didn't get such a good deal after all...
Millions of jobs is taking into account the other automakers and suppliers that would have went under without GM and Chrysler around. Even Ford knew it, that is why they supported the bailout.
GM had a loan too and paid it off a long time ago. The government is now a stock holder and could technically make or lose money. The money that will be lost, will be a whole lot less then what it would have paid if GM had gone bankrupt. I won't explain the details to you, because I know I'd just be wasting my time to a person whose so short sighted.
"The bailout gave nothing new to the union"
Clearly you have no interest whatsoever in the truth or in facts that run counter to your opinion.
Good luck.
That was easy enough.
Rewriting laws and creating exemptions for a single company is the classic definition of corruption and cronyism:
http://cnnmon.ie/11fWfsr
"NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The U.S. Treasury is giving up $14 billion in tax revenue because of a sweetheart deal it's giving General Motors.
The automaker is expected to post its first profitable year since 2004 when it reports fourth-quarter results on Thursday. But GM (GM) won't have to worry about being hit with a big tax bill because billions in previous losses will provide shelter for years to come.
That break will reduce GM's U.S. tax bill by an estimated $14 billion in the coming years, and its global taxes by close to $19 billion, according to a company filing.
Companies typically get a break on future taxes because of past losses. But in most cases they lose that tax break during bankruptcy, because the losses are offset by the "income" the company receives from shedding its debt."
Ford is unionized. I like Ford. I own their products. I will buy their products.
Buy all the Fords you want. It's a free country. I've bought two GM cars since the bankruptcy and they are both great cars. Much better than the Toyota that I got rid of.
" I am a GM employee"
Well that explains your obstinance then. It's cut and dry as far as the facts. Google the phrase I gave you: "how GM screwed bondholders and taxpayers"
The various articles on the subject are so clear as to how we the taxpayer and we the bondholders (grandmas', grandpa's, pension funds, insurance companies, etc) got screwed in order to redistribute wealth to a select few that you have to be willingly blind to not see it.
I am not blaming you specifically as you had nothing to do with it.
Good luck.
"The bondholders had the ability to sell their bonds at any time they wanted at 95 cents on the dollar, at 90 cents, all the way down to about 8-9 cents. Claiming they are owed significantly more than the market value, and the price many of the bondholders paid, is disingenuous. They had the right and ability to get out of the deal anytime they wanted but not so for the UAW. Also, part of the deal for getting the money from the government in the first place was that the government was first in line, as such, they do get to have influence on the outcome. The Government is also on the hook for pensions via their PBGC pension insurance that the autoworkers/automakers have paid into for decades. The government, first in line, will take care of its obligations first.
Many, not all, of the complaining bondholders paid pennies for the bonds and expected they would be paid in full like AIG and the other financials that got bailout money. That is the other side of the coin."
You are not interested in the truth. You are finding what confirms your viewpoint.
There are literally centuries of law dealing with bankruptcy, bondholders, and non-secured creditors. This deal violated all of those preexisting laws beyond all the other stuff mentioned.
If you it makes you feel good to believe what you do, I don't have a problem with that. I do have a problem with lies and corruption which is what this bailout is a poster child for and why I am disgusted with the government and Government Motors.
FYI GM actually did go into bankruptcy it was just fixed to reward a certain group and punish the rest.
Yes, and I have a bridge to sell .............
The US Government and GM have one thing in common, they both have no credibility.