Quote:
Originally Posted by Gozer
Had GM and Chrysler collapsed, it would have cost the federal government about $28.6 billion in lost tax revenues and assistance to the unemployed in just the first two years alone, according to the Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research. In other words, doing nothing could have cost more than twice as much the bailout.
By the way, that $28.6 billion figure doesn't include the business taxes the federal government would have lost but can now expect from two large, profitable automakers and their suppliers. It also doesn't include any lost state and local tax revenue.
-http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/21/autos/chrysler_bailout_costs_gains/index.htm
I didn't approve of the auto-industry bailout, but I think I was wrong.
Clearly the economy would be in a worse state (today) without it.
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I think you were right. A brief bankruptcy wouldn't have shut down either company. The creditors couldn't have afforded the losses. What it would have done is force GM to cut waste and allowed them to adjust both wages and pensions to conform with their foreign competitors. All three American automakers have huge pension liabilities which makes it near impossible to produce a competitive product. It is their number one problem. Obama's investments had more to do with protecting the Union than saving American companies and jobs.