February 25, 2010 – 7:30 am
Perhaps because of what Glenn Beck’s been saying about Toyota, I’ve been asked many times over the past few weeks whether it’s possible that Obama, Rahm Emanuel and/or Waxman have launched this vendetta against them, as a conscious strategy to benefit GM and/or the UAW. After all, the government owns most of GM now.
I’ve had a serious mental block against even considering that idea. After all, to say that the government owns a majority of GM is theoretically the same as saying that We The Taxpayers own a majority of GM.
But what if it’s true? Hearing some of what Waxman has been saying really has me wondering.
October 6, 2009 – 9:11 am
Today’s Coffee and Markets podcast focuses on the oft-reported backroom dealings of the Gulf states on oil and the dollar, and the more realistic possibility of a second bailout for the auto industry.
By Francis Cianfrocca
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Posted in Features, Podcasts
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Also tagged auto industry, bailout, Coffee and Markets, Ford, GM, Gold, Gulf, Hyundai, Oil, Podcast, Podcasts
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A pop-star persona can only take you so far in the White House. At some point, if you are the President, you have to produce. And many people are coming to the conclusion that when it comes to the economy, Barack Obama hasn’t produced:
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Blogs, Chequer-Board
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Also tagged auto industry, Barack Obama, Budget Deficit, Conservatives, Democrats, economy, General Motors, Guantanamo Bay, health care, Law, Liberals, National Security, Obama Administration, Politics, Polls, Republicans, Terrorism
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It would indeed be very fruitful and interesting to debate whether the broadest set of interests are best served by using public money to keep a failed corporation from shutting down, and from shredding the age-old principle that private property is sacrosanct in democratic societies. But if we’re ever going to have that debate, it will be after the fact. And just by demonstrating a willingness to force the issue without a debate, the Obama White House has shown everyone that the prudent course of action is to hold off on new business activity until we all know the new rules of the game.
I am very reluctant to accept that the Federal government can manage the transition of General Motors from a failed bankruptcy to a healthy and newly-independent business, generating good jobs, and vibrantly serving consumer needs. Even if some facsimile of that process unfolds, the economic inefficiency will be staggering. That translates directly to consumption and investment that we will all have to forgo.
By Francis Cianfrocca
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Posted in Edge, Features, Market
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Also tagged auto industry, bailouts, Barack Obama, car makers, Ford, Francis Cianfrocca, Fritz Henderson, General Motors, GM, Rick Wagoner
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President Obama is trying to fundamentally change the economics of auto transport. He’s doing things that will make it cost a lot more in real terms to drive a mile in your vehicle. In the future, you’ll have to give up more of the other things you buy in order to drive as much as you do now.
There is something deeply disturbing about the Obama Administration’s willingness to abrogate contracts, agreements, and the legal rights of others as it continues to expand government’s role and crowds out private sector rights in the process.
I predict that before it’s all over, the taxpayers will have flushed between 50 and 100 billion dollars into GM. In return for nothing.
The Chrysler arm-twisting story continues in full force this week. It’s being kicked up a notch by the left wing blogosphere. And that’s a very good thing, because from the business and economic perspective, this story is every bit as important as anything else that’s been reported so far in this eventful year.
Chrysler’s bankruptcy filing represents something very new and different for the American economy. There’s a tremendous number of moving parts here, and no one is being very clear about it. I have at least two very big questions and one major concern about what Chrysler’s situation suggests could happen to GM and the largest banks.
. . . when did it become the government’s job to intervene in the bankruptcy process to move junior creditors who belong to favored political constituencies to the front of the line?
Those who believe that this Administration is an enemy of business cannot be blamed:
