General Motors – It’s Payback Time
According to the cheerleaders at one of the various state-controlled media centers, GM has paid back all its loans to the US and Canadian governments. Then there’s reality:
General Motors has repaid its government loans ahead of schedule and is making “great progress,” the automaker’s chief executive officer said Wednesday.
“GM’s ability to pay back our loans ahead of schedule is a sign that our plan is working and that we’re on the right track,” Ed Whitacre said at a press conference.
The final 5.8 billion dollar repayment does not cover loans made to the “old” General Motors which is being slowly wound down through the bankruptcy process.
The US government, which provided about 50 billion dollars in emergency loans, holds a 60.8 percent stake in the new company. The Canadian government and a retiree health care trust also hold significant stakes.
“We are encouraged that GM has repaid its debt well ahead of schedule and confident that the company is on a strong path to viability,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
Yes indeed. GM is “on a strong path to viability”, it just hasn’t made any actual profit for the last 2 years. Other than that, they are solid as a rock.
When I first heard the news that GM had paid back its government loans, I was curious how a company that lost $5 billion last year and $20 billion the year before could pay back the $63 billion it had “borrowed” from the Canadian and US governments. Then I read that GM didn’t actually pay back the whole amount, but they paid back only 10% of that loan. Then I wondered how the heck did a company that had lost $25 billion in the last two years manage to scrape together $5 billion to pay back a portion of their loan? And then that nasty little thing called reality popped right into my over-sized noggin’: GM paid back a small portion of their loan by sacking 65,000 workers.
And not only did they sack 65,000 workers, but they fully intend on renegging on those 65,000 pensions, too. You see, in 2013 and 2014 when those pensions come up, it will cost GM between 12-14 BILLION every year until those persioners die and go to the great manufacturing plant in the sky.
So how is GM going to pay out $14 billion every year from 2013 until forever? They aint. They aint gonna pay, you and I are gonna pay.
You see, the American gov’t owns over 60% of GM and Chrysler, and therefore are on the hook for the retiree pensions. Meaning, YOU and I are on the hook for the pensions.
The Mayor doesn’t actually drive a GM, yet feels as if GM is giving him a good ride.
April 21st, 2010 at 4:56 pm
I saw this on another blog, and they were lauding the company for “paying back their loan”.
I pointed out they paid back 8.1 billion of 63 billion borrowed,which is good news, but hardly dancing in the streets good news. I expect to be deleted from that post.
I’m looking for a newer truck this year, and may go with an old’02-’05 GM as they were one of the more reliable trucks built at that time.
Toyotas are good, but they want the crown jewels in exchange for a Tundra or Tacoma.
April 21st, 2010 at 5:32 pm
I really like the 2010 Tundra / Tacoma too, in 2020, I hope to find one in that electric blue…
April 21st, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Gubmit Motors is shutting down the Hummer plant here in Shreveport. That plant made the most excellent mid-size truck EVER…the S-10 at one time. We have thousands of GM workers and retirees that are my neighbors and friends.
Well…maybe Wal-Mart is hiring “greeters.”
I read that thing earlier today about GM paying back their loan…
I have always been a Ford guy. But, it doesn’t make me feel any better…
April 21st, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Andy,I had a 1988 S-10, damned good little truck. I put about 260,000 km on it before the motor, a 2.8l V-6,cracked the block. It earned me a living for about 12 years,though. I think that little 2.8 was just too small for the load it had to carry. The 4.3l just seems to go on and on.
I’ve got a ‘93 Chev Astro van now for a work truck, and have about 285,000 km on it, still going strong,although the paint’s peeling like an old board fence.
I’ve owned several Chevs or GMC’s and a couple of Fords which were pretty good too. I’m waiting for a government incentive to buy a new truck, like a 0% loan, and no particular rush for the payback, maybe $5 a month for a hundred years or so.
Here in Canada,it’ll happen eventually to keep Union workers going.
April 21st, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Don, my #3 son (my Soldier) has an ‘89 S-10 that he is converting to a “one of a kind jeep thingy.” I’ll have to post the pictures. It looks like crap, but I’m starting to grab the concept of where he’s going with it.
Helluva vehicle. Built right here across the Red River in Shreveport. Too bad all those folks will be begging for a job at WalMart soon…
You’ll have to forgive me. I don’t really understand “km.” But, I figure it’s a bunch of miles…
April 21st, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Yeah, it’s a thing they forced on us back in the 70’s because “everyone uses that system”. I believe metric was invented by the French, and our Prime Minister is usually a French Canadian, so I guess they figure it’s cool.
You should see the sizes of canned foods up here, 341 ml, 798 ml, 155ml,etc, instead of good old 10 ounces, 12 ounces,etc.
A km ain’t very far, .6 miles, but when you go for a hike it sounds more impressive to say “10 kilometres” than “six miles”.
Yeah.I’d like to see what the young fellow does with the S-10, post ‘em when you get ‘em. It’ll be a lot better than “Bubble Butt Week”.
April 22nd, 2010 at 8:09 am
Yeah Don, I remember when the US was going metric. We had to learn all that stuff in school to prepare for it.
Never happened. I guess we were too ignorant to catch on. I was actually a competitive distance runner in my 20s & 30s. So, I really do know what a km is…our races converted to kms many years ago…dunno why. Depending on the stage of the race, sometimes a km can be reeeeeeeeeeel long.
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Oh guys, I know why the metric system was shelved. Teaching customary units of measurement, linear, mass, and volume, and all the conversion there of, is a lot of information.
Then, add metric units, and their parts. My God.
It took me 4 days to teach length and height with customary units to some mastery.
So, then I took on centimeter and meter, just those two.
I use auditory, visual, and kinesthetic instructional methods. Nonlinguistic representation, realia, cooperative learning, peer tutoring, individual instruction,graphic organization, and repetition, repetition, repetition… Set up 5 different measuring stations. Diversity…affective learning environment, and so on.
Since kids notice anything new in their environment, I even taped a picture of a centimeter cube and a meter stick on the door…. One way or another, or another, or….they could connect, right? wrong.
Circle one. Which unit, meter or centimeter, would be used to measure….. first there was a picture of a child…a student answered, “a centimeter.” (?!wth) I was sorry I asked why.
She went over to the door and STOOD UNDER the picture of the centimeter cube, that I had taped up for an additional visual cue, and said, “see, I come up to the centimeter.” And the rest agreed.
..I’ll make up a song and dance for tomorrow, and then it’s on to mass. Of course they will notice the ass in mass. God love ‘em.
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Um…Nancy…would you try that again in ignurnt southern English, please?
Jeepers, in the first two and a half paragraphs I thought you were speaking in tongues.
I did understand the last two sentences, though. God love ‘em…
April 22nd, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Sorry,LOL
April 23rd, 2010 at 4:55 am
Andy, the best part of the day was when a little girl came out of the bathroom and announced she had worms in her poop.
God love ‘em