Posted on 08/23/2012 5:14:53 PM PDT by MNJohnnie
Obama told a campaign event audience in Colorado earlier this month, "I said, let's bet on America's workers. And we got management and workers to come together, making cars better than ever, and now GM is number one again and the American auto industry has come roaring back."
His conclusion: "So now I want to say that what we did with the auto industry, we can do in manufacturing across America. Let's make sure advanced, high-tech manufacturing jobs take root here, not in China. Let's have them here in Colorado. And that means supporting investment here."
Was he calling for a federal bailout of other American manufacturing companies? And what does he mean by "supporting investment"? White House reporters have not asked these obvious questions, for the good reason that the president, who has been attending fundraisers on an average of one every 60 hours, had not held a press conference in something like two months until recently. They were not asked in his brief, impromptu press conference on Monday.
Obama talks about the auto bailout frequently, since it's one of the few things in his record that gets positive responses in the polls. But he's probably wise to avoid probing questions, since the GM bailout is not at all the success he claims.
GM has been selling cars in the U.S. at deep discount and, while it's making money in China -- and is outsourcing operations there and elsewhere -- it's bleeding losses in Europe. It's spending billions to ditch its Opel brand there in favor of Chevrolet, including $559 million to put the Chevy logo on Manchester United soccer team uniforms -- and just fired the marketing exec who cut that deal.
It botched the launch of its new Chevrolet Malibu by starting with the green-friendly Eco version, which pleased its government shareholders but which got lousy reviews. And it's selling only about 10,000 electric-powered Chevy Volts a year, a puny contribution toward Obama's goal of 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.
"GM is going from bad to worse," reads the headline on Automotive News Editor-in-Chief Keith Crain's analysis. That's certainly true of its stock price.
The government still owns 500 million shares of GM, 26 percent of the total. It needs to sell them for $53 a share to recover its $49.5 billion bailout. But the stock price is about $20 a share, and the Treasury now estimates that the government will lose more than $25 billion if and when it sells.
That's in addition to the revenue lost when the Obama administration permitted GM to continue to deduct previous losses from current profits, even though such deductions are ordinarily wiped out in bankruptcy proceedings.
It's hard to avoid the conclusion that GM is bleeding money because of decisions made by a management eager to please its political masters -- and by the terms of the bankruptcy arranged by Obama car czars Ron Bloom and Steven Rattner.
Rattner himself admitted late last year, in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club, that "We should have asked the [United Auto Workers] to do a bit more. We did not ask any UAW member to take a cut in their pay." Nonunion employees of GM spin-off Delphi lost their pensions. UAW members didn't.
The UAW got its political payoff. And GM, according to Forbes writer Louis Woodhill, is headed to bankruptcy again.
Is this really what Obama wants to do for all manufacturing across America? Let's hope not.
Not accord to "General Motors is becoming China Motors".
I never want to see the inside of another GM dealership.
A camel is a horse designed by government bueaurocracy.
The colt was formulated and designed by government ineptness , not by the marketplace .
Maybe Obama would like to use the profits from “Dreams of My Father” to purchase GM shares right now since the shares are at half their original value that the Govt. bought them .
“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation.
One is by the sword...
The other is by debt.” John Adams 1826
too big to fail....
No mystery by now. He uses the "investment" term the same way every time. He means piss taxpayer money down a rat hole to pay off his cronies in the unions, so he can see a percentage of the same taxpayer money come back to benefit the Demomarxists later on in political contributions.
His conclusion: "So now I want to say that what we did with the auto industry, we can do in manufacturing across America. Let's make sure advanced, high-tech manufacturing jobs take root here, not in China. Let's have them here in Colorado. And that means supporting investment here."
Helps to read the article before posting Obot talking points
That's like saying "Congo tourism goes from bad to worse despite Ebola outbreak". It was the bailout that guaranteed GM's failure. Many who are boycotting GM forever, including me, might have preferred avoiding GM simply because of the UAW's sleaze, but the bailout made that preferential avoidance a moral obligation. I will never, ever, under any circumstances but a GM product, and that is Obama's fault. GM is dead to me.
GM goes from bad to worse under Obama bailout
GM goes from bad to worse under Obama bailout
I disagree. It should be "because of" instead of "despite."
Yes Sir!
Up until Obama and his Marxist pals engineered the theft of GM stock from grannies and assorted other investors and then gave that stock to criminal unions, my company had, in 30 odd years bought scores of Chevy’s! Not one since and NOT EVER.......AGAIN!
I knew exactly what the article said...O wants to grow government and take over more industries...The comment was about Obamas 2012 and the campaign slogan listed....I guess YOU don’t recognize sarcasm
“Obama 2012! Corruption, Incompetence and Bankruptcy!”
that is what I responded to
Hmm seems I struck a never. Truth hurts.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiswoodhill/2012/08/15/general-motors-is-headed-for-bankruptcy-again/
“General Motors Is Headed For Bankruptcy — Again”
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