Americas Inventive Gangsters: Full Throttle

A man who has never held a job in the private sector, let alone run a major corporation, has appointed himself CEO in Chief. President Obama released his plan for the auto industry.

Mr. Obama said that GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner is “stepping aside.” Yeah right. Even Jennifer Granholm, former mouthpiece for Barack Obama, sees past that. She said this morning that Mr. Wagoner was a sacrificial lamb. That sounds about right.

After reading the text of Mr. Obama’s remarks, it’s obvious what his goal is for the auto industry. (Emphasis mine.)

What we are asking is difficult. It will require hard choices by companies. It will require unions and workers who have already made painful concessions to make even more. It will require creditors to recognize that they cannot hold out for the prospect of endless government bailouts. Only then can we ask American taxpayers who have already put up so much of their hard-earned money to once more invest in a revitalized auto industry. But I am confident that if we are each willing to do our part, then this restructuring, as painful as it will be in the short-term, will mark not an end, but a new beginning for a great American industry; an auto industry that is once more out-competing the world; a 21st century auto industry that is creating new jobs, unleashing new prosperity, and manufacturing the fuel-efficient cars and trucks that will carry us toward an energy independent future. I am absolutely committed to working with Congress and the auto companies to meet one goal: the United States of America will lead the world in building the next generation of clean cars.

There it is! Clean cars. Congressional mandates for CAFE standards played a big role in the financial woes of America’s automakers. They make a profit from trucks and SUV’s. They don’t make a profit from cheap little cars that nobody wants. Especially when the unions won’t make any concessions that would help keep the costs of the crappy little cars down. Which brings us to this line.

Let there be no doubt, it will take an unprecedented effort on all our parts – from the halls of Congress to the boardroom, from the union hall to the factory floor – to see the auto industry through these difficult times.

If he was really serious about unprecendented effort from the union hall, why didn’t Ron Gettelfinger get the axe along with Rick Wagoner?

What Obama told us today is that the federal government is going to tell US automakers what automobiles they will manufacture. Although Mr. Obama said he doesn’t want to make these companies “wards of the state” that’s exactly what he’s done. And he’s let Americans know that in his mind, the only way to “tap into that same ingenuity and resilience right now; if we can carry one another through this difficult time and do what must be done” is if he, the CEO in Chief is there to lead the way.

My goodness, how did they ever build a car company before Mr. Obama came along?

http://www.lonelyconservative.com/


from Will Profit:
 Do you really believe team BO will stop sponsoring GM and force bankruptcy/liquidation? I don't think it will happen. I give Chrysler a 50-50 chance of survival, via the public dole. BO cannot afford the political ramifications of approximately 200,000 people being put out of work due to both these companies going under. Granted, this is a worst case scenario, but it is a realistic one. Collateral damge? How many jobs in the auto supply sector and sub sectors  would be lost? 300,000, 1,500,000? I don't know what the estimate is, but common sense dictates it would be huge.
  The auto makers are still in the drivers seat in dealing with the BO administration. After all 3.5 million jobs cannot be saved/created in 2-3 yrs if the U.S. takes a hit such as this, combined with the overall, abysymal  unemployment rate which is giving no sign of letting up any time soon. Any opinions?

 P.S. I got a kick out of the Drudge caption:  "GM: Government Motors..."

From the Financial Ninja (excerpt):

[The broader markets rallied hard all month. The mouth breathing pump monkeys on CNBC even started postulating, between giggles and squeals of retarded delight, that this Bear Market rally was actually a new Bull Market rally.

Over the weekend Rick Wagoner, CEO of the colossal failure that is General Motors (GM) was ousted by President Barak Obama. The President’s car task force has finally concluded that turnaround plans of GM and Chrysler could not work and that they therefore would not be getting anymore bailout money without further deeper cuts. The futures did an instant face plant in overnight electronic trading.

However, this is one of the first steps in the right direction. This is actually bottom making material.

For the broader markets to bottom and for the economy to bottom, certain cataclysmic events must occur. While the timing or form of these cathartic events are difficult to predict, you WILL know them when they occur. If GM and Chrysler are forced into bankruptcy, that will be the one of the bottom forming events.

Many more, such as the final nationalization of Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) and the complete unwinding of AIG are still required. Losses must be taken by all stakeholders, not just tax payers. Balance sheets must be purged and legacy liabilities written off. These companies need to be recapitalized and relaunched with pristine balance sheets. Only then can they contribute constructively to the economy and help engineer an economic revival.]
http://benbittrolff.blogspot.com/2009/03/gm-this-is-actually-bottom-making.html 

Very interesting article:
"Barack Obama as Herbert Hoover"
 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/03/barack-obama-as-herbert-hoover.html



{Dear Treasury Secretary Dithers, is the following item true?}

 Excerpts from zerohedge.blogspot.com: