The irony is that this program, like President Bush's Troubled Asset Relief Program have been by largely successful. Today's WSJ reports that the new General Motors is now talking about going public again. If GM is successful in selling stock, taxpayers may actually come out ahead.
Today President Obama was at a Ford plant touting the bailout of the auto industry. What's wrong with this picture?
Ford didn't take any money from the Federal Government. In fact, Ford outright rejected bailout money instead raising capital the old fashioned way: they offered stock.
Because of this Ford has a higher debt than either Chevy of Chrysler (both of whom had their debt wiped out by bankruptcy). But Ford actually has been making huge profits. They have also made substantial gains in market share. And they are bringing back some 2,000 jobs that were originally outsourced. How many companies can claim that?
Ford owe's it success to old-fashioned business sense and capitalism.
At the Ford plant, the President today not only took credit for saving GM and Chrysler, he attempted to take credit for saving Ford. He argued that, in essence, by saving GM and Chrysler, essential suppliers to the industry were saved. In essence: "I saved you by saving your competitors."
Logical limitations aside, why is it politicians feel the need to make these outrageous claims? We all remember the mockery made of Al Gore's infamous declaration that he invented the Internet.
The President today ironically said he'd supported the bailout because he supported American workers.
But it's Ford who showed the President what American workers can do. And they didn't need the Federal government to do it for them.
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