GM Bailout/Bankruptcy Thoughts

GM Plucks the Goose Big Time!

I am just a simple guy, no MBA's here so consider my musings with that in mind. Remembering of course that this once proud auto company which once held 54% of the North American car market has been run into the ground by a whole bunch of MBA's.

It could be that it takes more than a diploma to actually know how to run a business. Remember most of those guys teaching that stuff have never actually done anything other than display a gift for regurgitating what other people think.

Back to GM,here is a company which when all is said and done will likely be into the North American taxpayer for $100 billion. They apparently have assets approaching $80 billion and liabilites approaching $172 billion!!! If their assets are as badly over stated as I suspect, their balance sheet probably looks a lot worse.

So how come it has taken them this long to go into bankruptcy? One reason could be, by spending money put into a long failing company by trusting investors who are now left out in the cold.

In Canada it would seem the taxpayer is going to be on the hook to fund a gold-plated pension the auto workers once struck with GM. Why you ask?? I don't know either. If GM and their employes concocted some unsustainable pension fund years ago when they were all living in lala land and it now doesn't work, why should John Q public pick up the tab?

If you had the opportunity to listen to the new CEO of GM being interviewed by Peter Mansbridge the other night, you would be forgiven if you felt he did not exactly instill confidence in GM and where it is going with your's and my money! He offered no explanation why closing nearly half of their Canadian dealerships would prompt me to buy one of their cars next time I need one.

A simple solution, from a simple fellow, give whatever assets GM has to the Ford Motor Company and let them run the whole industry. They seem to be the only ones who are not walking around with their cap in their hands these days.

And the Goose gets plucked one more time! Thanks GM.