What if Other Countries Follow the Obama Plan for GM?
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
June 3, 2009 1:54am CST
Ok, now that the Central Committee has seized GM, making it a government owned company, what if other countries do the same thing.
GM has plants, dealerships and other assets in many countries. How would you react to the governments of those coutries seizing all GM properties within their borders?
Before you say, "sure, it's their country, why not" remember, over 70% of GM is owned by the US government. If those coutries decide to do what Obama has done, they would be depriving our government of all profits and proceeds... in other words, they would be stealing from the US.
If you applaud Obama for what he's doing, why shouldn't other countries do the same... and why should it stop at GM?
2 responses
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
3 Jun 09
I'm afraid it won't stop at GM and, no, I don't applaud any of this. I'm not falling for the "we don't want to be in the car business...banking business" lines or comforted by the claim that it will only be for a little while. As far as other countries following suit, it's not beyond the realm of possibilities and then we'll be forced to deal with yet another unintended consequence of a boneheaded plan.
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
3 Jun 09
Curiosity is getting the better of me. I know it's off topic, but nosy me wants to know, lol, are you still supporting Obama? If yes, has your opinion about him in any way changed due to the policies he has pursued?
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
3 Jun 09
You know I think it's bad that the government takes so much control. The fallout even within this country is even worse. Yeah, the UAW is please. I guess that was the goal. But the creditors are looking through their fingers. Somehow people seem to have the impression those are just banks and investors. Nope, major creditors were the suppliers, who are now forced to shut down. In this region plenty of those companies have closed. Of course their workers didn't fall under UAW protection. Next we'll all be on a production plan and drive sub-standard vehicles we have to wait on getting for ten years... like the Trabbi used to be.
As far as I know, Germany was considering doing exactly what you propose, taking over Opel (a subsidiary of GM). I haven't followed that as closely as I should and don't know what happened. All I know is that it most likely will be taken over by Fiat soon.
It would actually be wise of those governments to take over those assets and get them out of the grip of the US government. Nothing good will come out of the control our government exercises over those companies. And yes, at the end of the day, it would be a giant loss for us.
