The Republic is practically dead with nary a whimper.
The only thing I would disagree about in this article is putting almost all the blame for GM’s failure on its unionized workforce. Oh, they did their part, all right, but GM’s management also made one bad decision after another - in product planning, and also in their “diversification” by ill-conceived acquisitions of other companies. GMAC and its subsidiaries were totally out of control. GM did not need Saturn to compete with its own existing brands. And so on.
I certainly do agree, though, that the main reason for this bailout was to save the UAW workers of GM and Chrysler, and will not otherwise achieve anything that couldn’t have been just as well achieved by reorganizing these companies without gov’t intervention when it first became apparent that they were no longer viable.
Another bold faced LIE. It has already cost some 50 billion up to this point, the multi 100's of billions that the UAW's pension fund and health benefits represents is a unfunded debt that must also be funded soon, unless the government plans to leave this albatross hanging around taxpayers necks like old age security, paid out of general revenue for all eternity.
GM is going to cost 100's of billions each and every year for the next 8 years, which is about how long it will take for this government to be overthrown by a massive armed revolt by a starving and desperate population.
Are we going to need a passport for the move to China?