Obama fires GM CEO!!!!

[Upchurch]

What bothers me more than the $84 billion ... is the fact that we have a major industry in a position where the president can dictate who he does and does not want running it.

Perhaps the President is in the position to dictate this (and perhaps not), so far he has not done so. Why do you insist on spinning it like he has?

 

[rwguinn]

Yep, it's in the article linked to debunk the $70 per hour claim:



Only $10 per hour is the value of the benefits to current workers, while $32 per hour is pensions and benefits to retirees. So the real problem is not current pay but pay to past employees.

From Here:

Alfred Wilson said, "I went out and signed a contract when I retired, and I expect the company to live up to that contract." Wilson, 51, of Arlington retired in 2005 after 30 years at the Arlington plant.

So, contracts previously signed only apply to Union guys, not AIG types...

As a condition for providing further financial aid to GM, the Obama administration has demanded that the company and the United Auto Workers further cut the retirement benefits that were promised workers as part of union contracts.

But Obama is not DEMANDING anything!

Even with the changes contemplated under the GM reorganization plan the government rejected Monday, the cost of "legacy liabilities [largely retiree pensions and health benefits] grow to unsustainable levels reaching approximately $6 billion a year," according to documents released by the administration.
Wilson, who said he voted for Obama and was a local Democratic delegate, said he "wasn’t very happy" with Obama’s comments Monday outlining the government’s further demands on GM.
"I thought he would bring in fresh blood," Wilson said, "but it looks like more of the same old insiders. No one’s looking out for the common man."
The former UAW members say that their benefits were hard-won in contract talks and that they shouldn’t have to take cuts or be forced to pay a greater share of their medical costs.
Retirees pay an average of just $23 a month toward the cost of health coverage for themselves, spouses and other eligible dependents, plus some level of deductibles and co-payments. The GM retirees say they didn’t have to pay anything until 2005, when the UAW agreed to new contract terms.

I am a "retired" "Fat cat". From a major (The Major?) Aerospace firm.
My insurance for me, wife, and kid are $1200/ month.
Who in hell is the "fat cat"?

Perhaps the President is in the position to dictate this (and perhaps not), so far he has not done so. Why do you insist on spinning it like he has?

Read, Upchurch, and comprehend.

 

[Oliver]

Perhaps the President is in the position to dictate this (and perhaps not), so far he has not done so. Why do you insist on spinning it like he has?

My understanding is that being a "principal stockholder" does have the power to intoduce new policies. Why is that a crime if a government is the "principal stockholder" of a company?

It's still within the "free market principles", is it not?

 

[Meadmaker]

does anyone recall who was the driving force behind the funds for GM and Chrysler in December? Was it congress or the president?

President Bush.

The congressional Democratic leadership, supported by the administration, introduced a loan/bailout bill that would have appropriated funds for the auto industry. The bill was opposed by most Republicans and a few Democrats. There were enough no votes to kill the bill. President Bush then stepped in and diverted TARP funds.

 

[The Painter]

My understanding is that being a "principal stockholder" does have the power to intoduce new policies. Why is that a crime if a government is the "principal stockholder" of a company?

It's still within the "free market principles", is it not?

No the government is not a principal stock holder. The government did not buy stock. (I wish they did, that would have driven the stock price to 20 dollars per share.) I don't believe the government is allowed to. The government made a loan. Big difference.

 

[Dr Adequate]

As a condition for providing further financial aid to GM, the Obama administration has demanded that the company and the United Auto Workers further cut the retirement benefits that were promised workers as part of union contracts.

But he's still a communist waging class warfare, right?

 

[Wildy]

No the government is not a principal stock holder. The government did not buy stock. (I wish they did, that would have driven the stock price to 20 dollars per share.) I don't believe the government is allowed to. The government made a loan. Big difference.

So why should the loan be unconditional?

Frankly I don't see any difference, GM wants money, so they go to the government for a loan and the government gives them some conditions. As far as my knowledge of banks and money lending companies they have some sort of conditions when they offer someone a loan, so why does the US Government have to be any different?

 

[applecorped]

 

[davefoc]

No the government is not a principal stock holder. The government did not buy stock. (I wish they did, that would have driven the stock price to 20 dollars per share.) I don't believe the government is allowed to. The government made a loan. Big difference.

The government is the defacto owner of GM at this point. The stock only has value because some people think the US government will keep throwing money into GM.

Pension holders, medical policy holders, bond holders, unions, suppliers, and dealers are all ahead of the stock holders right now. If the stock holders want to stage some sort of a coup and reject government control of GM they might theoretically be able to do it and then within a few nanoseconds the rest of the GM stakeholders would force GM into bankruptcy and the shareholder value would become not only theoretically equal to zero, it would become exactly equal to zero.

People keep talking about the contract the retirees have with GM and how bad it is that the government force concessions on the pension plans. Huh? Who are these contracts with? Those contracts are with the stockholders of GM. The retirees, the unions, and the executives have already burned through the GM stockholder value a long time ago. They are now attempting to live off bond holder money and government money. The great socialist, Obama, has suggested that their plan is unacceptable with regard to that and the great capitalist and defender of the free markets. Bush. was fine with it.

The reality of this situation seems to have gone completely unnoticed by the routine hyper partisan Republicans that participate in this forum.