GM Loses Another $16 Billion -- Bankrupt?

[KrazyHorse]

Seriously, why does the US gov't give a **** about these companies? Ford and GM combined have less than 7 bln in market cap. That's like 20$ per US citizen.

[Darius871]

[KrazyHorse]

I'll give the US gov't 20$ if they promise not to give any of the car manufacturers any money.

[DanS]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Seriously, why does the US gov't give a **** about these companies? Ford and GM combined have less than 7 bln in market cap. That's like 20$ per US citizen.

Because some voters have romantic visions of manufacturing.

[KrazyHorse]

That reminds me of the posters which were on the walls of a Burger King (?) back in Montreal. They were Soviet-style propaganda type (strong worker, angular, bold colours) except they were of BK employees

Can't find any of them online, but they were of this style:



Thought it was hilarious.

[DanS]

It's simply stunning how fast the Detroit car companies are running through their cash.

If Obama puts the Feds on the hook for this, he better be willing to write a long series of truly enormous checks. $50 billion wouldn't be enough by a long shot.

[Dinner]

The biggest problem is that the credit crunch has made it virtually impossible for people to buy cars. Credit markets still are working because banks still aren't lending.

[GePap]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Seriously, why does the US gov't give a **** about these companies? Ford and GM combined have less than 7 bln in market cap. That's like 20$ per US citizen.

Probably because those two corporations combined employ 640,000 workers.

[Dinner]

Not counting parts suppliers.

BTW auto sales are horrible. GM says last month was the worst month since the end of WW2 and it was horrible for everyone in the industry.

[KrazyHorse]

Which is an unsustainable number given how much the companies are worth.

That's a market cap per employee of 10000$. That's ridiculous.

[GePap]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Which is an unsustainable number given how much the companies are worth.

That's a market cap per employee of 10000$. That's ridiculous.

And how does that change the fact that no politician wants to possibly see half a million people lose their jobs and benefits?

[KrazyHorse]

Why? 250000 people (net!) just lost their jobs last month, while overall turnover was significantly higher than that.

[DanS]

FYI, not many of those employees are in the US. Why don't we bill Mexico for this bailout?

[GePap]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Why? 250000 people (net!) just lost their jobs last month, while overall turnover was significantly higher than that.

1. Can you name me a single politician that has voiced thier pleasure at the current bleak job market?

2. Those job loses came from all sectors and are spread countrywide. The loss of jobs from two specific companies would be more concentrated, meaning that there are lists of specific politicians who would see their own areas go to hell in a handbasket, meaning they have an extra incentive to prevent a collapse of the main employers in their areas.

Come on, you can make all the economic arguments you want, but this is politics, and the politics of this are pretty obvious.

[Arrian]

Let them fail. If money is to be spent (and it will be), spend it such that the people who lose their jobs (with the automakers or elsewhere) can find new ones, rather than propping up something that is obviously unsustainable.

Good money after bad

-Arrian