GM in particular, their socialism experiment (i.e. generous Pension and Retiree Health Care ) has failed. Their Liabilities due to actuaries "blowing it" ( in either 84' or 87') thinking many of the retiree's would be dead by now is the main cause they have no capital to retool etc.
The question I pose to you, do you want to give them a life line to the VEBA to off load this Socialism to the Unions in 2010, or do you want the Obamster and the Democratic House and Senate absorbing the retirement and bennies for 1/2 million people who ain't gonna take .30 cents on the dollar, like they would in Chapter 11.
Especially if the product going forward is as good as they are hinting since at least GM and Ford are due for a bunch of new product in the next 12 months which might put wind in their sales, such as the "Volt".
Take your pick.....
First of all, GM agreeing to give insanely generous benefits to their workers is not Socialism, it is stupidity. You don’t reward stupidity with Billions of dollars, you punish stupidity.
Also, the 2010 pay and benefit cuts still leave GM with a labor cost way out of line with the free market and this bailout won’t change that, so we would end up just throwing tons of money at the problem and still have to take over the pensions anyway.
G