Posted on 05/17/2010 4:40:27 PM PDT by Kaslin
The Obama administration last summer handed over $49.5 billion in taxpayers' money to Big Labor-controlled, money-hemorrhaging General Motors. The White House pitched this costly taxpayer-funded bailout as a bid to save American jobs.
But in reality, GM's reported U.S. employment shrank by nearly 25% just since last year's bailout and is almost certain to continue falling.
More than 80% of U.S. automotive manufacturing jobs are now in union-free firms and these firms, not bailed-out GM and Chrysler, represent the future of domestic auto manufacturing employment.
Rather than workers, the greatest beneficiary of the GM bailout was the United Autoworkers union hierarchy. Along with sympathetic Obama agents, union officials were effectively left in charge of the company.
Given that the wasteful work rules that UAW bosses — wielding government-granted monopoly-bargaining power over employees — insisted on for decades were largely what drove GM into bankruptcy, they certainly didn't deserve kid-gloves treatment. Yet that's what they got.
A UAW-controlled auto retiree health care fund was owed $20 billion by GM before the bailout.
Under the White House-dictated terms, UAW-appointed fund managers got back half of what they were owed in cash, whereas taxpayers who were owed $19.4 billion didn't get a dime back in cash.
Instead, the Obama administration "forgave" this entire loan on taxpayers' behalf and earmarked an additional $23.5 billion for the company's trip through bankruptcy. In exchange for the nearly $43 billion funneled to GM, taxpayers acquired a "60.8% equity stake" in GM.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
The list, ping
Obama Motors’ next scam is to take the company public and buy out 100% of the UAW’s stock for cash.
The UAW has told The Kenyan that they want their cash and they want it now.
I doubt that would work. Who in their right mind would invest in Government Motors?
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