“I think there are a whole lot of people who want this company to succeed,” he said. “It was a wonderful thing that the America taxpayers did for G.M.”
The recession is over only because Washington decided it should be. With billions in fresh government spending, it was only a matter of time before GDP posted some growth.
It’s too bad all that government spending is borrowed money. Someday, we’ll actually have to pay off this year’s $1.4 trillion deficit.
Just check out where the economy grew. Almost half — or 1.7% of the pickup in GDP growth came from “motor vehicle output.” That’s the summer’s $3 billion cash-for-clunkers program doing its thing. But at what cost?
Consider another one of Washington’s smashing successes: the $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers. For the third quarter, “real residential fixed investment” — also known as “homebuilding” — jumped 23.4%. That boosted GDP by another 0.5%. Do you feel like hugging Harry Reid now?
Goldman Sachs ran its own numbers, reckoning that each incremental home sale cost the taxpayer an astounding $80,000. Again, the methodology seems right to me, but decide for yourself
"What is the role of the board of directors in this case?" said Maryann N. Keller, an independent auto analyst and author of a history of GM. "To operate in the economic best interests of this company? Or to operate it based on government policy, which may be in conflict with the profit motive? We've never had an entity like this, and we're all going to watch it unfold."
Private sector political control is challenged by virtue of its failure in the economic realm.