GM Bailout Success... Decide For Yourself

As of today, GM has more than 82 billion dollars in losses, and is receiving prop up money from the government totaling over 13 billion dollars. For anyone keeping track of the numbers, that's 95 billion in the tank. And I can register a guess that those numbers are actually being underreported. But you would think that since President Obama has forced out their believed to be inept CEO, and appointed a “Presidential Task Force On The Auto Industry,” that some small miracles would begin to surface somewhere. That some good news would begin to creep out of the automotive businesses somehow – at least a little. But No. The news from the auto industry is just getting worse.

I've been keeping some headlines handy for the kind of auto industry news that's finally getting the press it deserves today.

-- GM CEO Forced Out As Part Of Gov't Plan - Yahoo News, March 30th
-- Obama Puts Chysler, GM on Short Leash - Yahoo News, March 30th
-- Will Wagoner's Exit Put GM on the Road to Recovery? - Time/CNN, March, 30th
-- Obama Asserts Gov't Control Over the Auto Industry - AP, March, 31st

GM, in the last few weeks, just so you can judge for yourself whether or not government intervention creates or solves economic problems, is shutting down many of its plants for the better part of 9 weeks. And it hasn't yet told its employees.

We'll find out if the bailout worked on June 1^st, when the company faces its deadline for restructuring, or bankruptcy. If I were forced to place a bet, bankruptcy would get my dollars – and then another “loan,” um, bailout, will most likely follow.