Public perception of the automotive bailout – one year later

Please vote in the poll at the end of this article.
Has it really been over a year since the first emergency loans were provided to General Motors and Chrysler? In fact, it was a year on December 19, 2009. It was then that President George W. Bush and his administration decided to give both automakers [...]

President Obama wants new taxes on banks

Let’s see now, what is that old saying? Something about honesty being good for the soul. If that’s the case, then my soul should be in pretty good shape after this post. That is unless the mixed feelings get in the way because my feelings about new taxes are very mixed.
First of all, I have [...]

Bailed-out companies to receive pay cut orders

Here is a formula for you. Take greed and bad business practices in equal parts and mix it with companies who were deemed “to big to fail”. Once stirred together, combine the resulting mix with $700 billion in bailout money. After baking for several months, what do we get? Let’s see now, we have seven [...]

Senator Kennedy’s health care legislation

Over the past several weeks, the Obama administration has made it no secret that they believe now is the time to pass health care reform through Congress. The President believes he has a mandate to do so and while I agree the health care system certainly needs to be revamped with considerable changes, the first [...]

Were Chrysler dealership closings politically motivated?

The articles I have written so far about the troubles of General Motors and Chrysler have been posted in Economy, but this article belongs in the US News/Politics category. Since the announcement by Chrysler that 789 of their 3,300 dealers were going to be closed, there has been a growing hubbub of speculation about the [...]

General Motors near bankruptcy

In spite of everything the Obama administration has done towards keeping General Motors out of bankruptcy, in spite of the billions of dollars that the federal government has pumped into the company, GM has failed to reach an agreement with bond holders to swap their unsecured debt for a 10% equity share in the company. [...]

Chrysler near bankruptcy

It is beginning to appear that Chrysler is going to have to file bankruptcy after all, despite having reached a deal with Fiat and the United Auto Workers Union (UAW). Sources close to the negotiations are saying that some of Chrysler’s smaller creditors have rejected an offer by the Treasury Department to accept $2.25 billion [...]

Chrysler close to deal with Fiat and UAW

It’s beginning to look like Chrysler may very well survive after all. For quite some time, it has looked like the smallest of America’s domestic automotive companies would have to declare bankruptcy and be sold at the auction block, but The Associated Press is reporting that it is close to a deal with Fiat. It [...]

Obama’s attack on Detroit

The news from the weekend and then on Monday has been dominated by the announcement by the Obama administration that there would be no more chances for General Motors and Chrysler. I have already raised the question and asked why the Detroit automakers didn’t deserve the same bailouts that have been extended to companies such [...]

Bailouts end for Detroit automakers

In a move blamed on the failure of General Motors and Chrysler to come up with plans that are acceptable to the Obama administration, the President will announce today that there will be no more money to bailout the two American automakers. This is on top of the news that President Obama has asked GM [...]

Next Page »