Posted by
Paul Wamack on Monday, June 01, 2009 4:38:42 PM
I just read this in an AP story:
"The plan is for the federal government to take a 60 percent ownership stake in the new GM. The Canadian government would take 12.5 percent, with the United Auto Workers getting a 17.5 percent share and unsecured bondholders receiving 10 percent. Existing GM shareholders are expected to be wiped out."
Just like that.
Interestingly, many of the "existing GM shareholders" are such vile fat-cats as several state teachers' pension funds and the like.
Apparently this is OK with our new and changed government in Washington for them to be "wiped out" for their greed and years of bankruptcy law swept aside to pay off the union workers for their faithful support of the Democrat party and to expand the reach of the government into what cars we will be able to drive. It's a time-honored tradition used by many new and changed governments in many lands -- just sieze the means of production. I'm sure this time the story will end differently than it always did before, not with the complete collapse of the enterprise being placed under this new management.
I read a quote recently, attributed to Gerald Ford, that said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take away everything you own." Actually, that wasn't original with Gerald Ford. It was a Roman senator. But the truth remains the same.