Free Republic

Last week we noted that the Chevrolet Volt, GM's entry in the electric car sweepstakes, is an unrevolutionary revolutionary vehicle. The same might be said of GM's initial public offering — it's a big deal, but it doesn't change some fundamental aspects about the car industry, the company, and the bailouts. Let's consider the impact on several stakeholders: U.S. Taxpayers: The government put $49.5 billion into GM in 2008 and 2009. Before the IPO, GM had paid back (or committed to pay back) $9.5 billion. The government sold about 412 million shares in the offering worth $13.6 billion, bringing the...

DETROIT — General Motors executives have been cleared for takeoff again. The automaker has been given the go-ahead by the federal government to use chartered aircraft as early as Thursday to ferry managers on a “road show” promoting G.M.’s public stock offering, according to government and company officials who declined to be identified. It is believed to be the first time that G.M. will use private jets for business-related purposes since the government demanded that it sell its fleet of corporate aircraft in 2008. As a condition for accepting emergency federal assistance, G.M. has required its executives to travel on...