PARTISAN, short memories..... sigh
This auto bail out and gm/Chrysler bailout was the doing of president bush, NOT president Obama....president obama had to follow through with what President Bush had already set up to happen.....amazing how for partisan sake, you guys forget and block out the truth....WHY do you guys do that? Why not just give the whole story on what went down, instead of twisting and turning it to put it all, on to who you all consider an enemy, our present president?
WASHINGTON — The emergency bailout of General Motors and Chrysler announced by President Bush on Friday gives the companies a few months to get their businesses in order, but hands off to President-elect Barack Obama the difficult political task of ruling on their future.
The plan pumps $13.4 billion by mid-January into the companies from the fund that Congress authorized to rescue the financial industry. But the two companies have until March 31 to produce a plan for long-term profitability, including concessions from unions, creditors, suppliers and dealers.
In February, another $4 billion will be available for G.M. if the rest of the $700 billion bailout package has been released.
Bush Aids Detroit, but Hard Choices Wait for Obama - NYTimes.com
Stopgap auto bailout to help GM, Chrysler - Dec. 19, 2008
Bush: "Preventing disorderly bankruptcy"
During brief remarks at the White House, President Bush said in normal times he would have not been in favor of preventing a bankruptcy of the two companies. But the current state of the economy and credit markets left him no choice but to act.
"Government has a responsibility to safeguard the broader health and stability of our economy," he said. "If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers."
"In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action," Bush added.
No-one claimed in this thread that GWB did not LOAN GM money
the thread talked about being paid back and GWB LOANED GM the original monies, did not give them shit
My issue is with that event also, but Bush also made it clear it was a loan, not this we give GM, GMAC 80 billion, 55 on top of the original LOAN GWB gave them
this 180 degrees different
» Bush Announces Bailout for GM, Chrysler-GM Bailout-: Frank discussion on the crisis facing the automotive industry
Bush Announces Bailout for GM, Chrysler
President George W. Bush announced that he would provide low-cost loans to GM and Chrysler, provided that they can create a plan for “viability” in the next three month
s. Chrysler and GM have said they would have to declare bankruptcy without the loans, with major payments due to suppliers in January that they can’t pay for.
Two of the Big Three will receive $17.4 billion in exchange for certain wage concessions. If at the end of three months the two companies have not submitted a viable plan for stability, the government will “call its loans regardless.” The government can also take 20 percent stakes in the companies in exchange for the loans if it decides to do so. The terms of the loans can be changed by incoming President Barack Obama, since the bailout was done on executive order and not through Congress. Obama said that he agreed with Bush’s move to bail out the auto industry.
General Motors gets a larger chunk of the first bailout outside of the financial industry, $9.4 billion, while Chrysler gets $4 billion.
Why was Ford left out? Ford has said it doesn’t need “immediate assistance” and might be waiting on the sidelines for a relief package from Congress with fewer strings attached.
The billions will come from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Fund (TARP), the “Wall Street bailout” approved with discretion to be doled out by the Treasury. Carmakers will become eligible for $4 billion more in February.
As a condition of the loans, Bush said that auto workers will be forced to accept “competitive” compensation with that of foreign auto companies in the United States. Other conditions are:
-No bonus payments to the top 25 executives
-Bondholders have to swap their bonds for bonds worth much less than the ones they hold, with two-thirds of GM and Chrysler’s debt required to be restructured
-End union benefits that continue to pay laid-off workers’ salaries for two years, called the “jobs bank” program
-Companies must issue new stock to pay for underfunded health funds administered by UAW
These conditions would decimate the value of current carmaker shareholders’ stock.
GM’s CEO, G. Richard Wagoner Jr., said that GM “helped build the country” and that the bailout would allow GM to restructure.
Some questions to ponder:
Will the loans keep Chrysler and GM from declaring bankruptcy or simply postpone the inevitable?
How will the bailout encourage consumers to buy cars when they’re simply not doing so right now?
