ClimateGate news

Monday, April 27, 2009

The nationalization of General Motors

Unthinkable? Not really.

GM’s restructuring plan would lower its debt by $44bn to an estimated $23bn, leaving the government and a healthcare trust managed by the United Auto Workers union with 89 per cent of the equity.
That sounds a lot like socialism to this old dog. Problem is, most (young) folk these days don't even understand what socialism is or what an abject failure it has been where ever and when ever it has been implemented.

Methinks Atlas just shrugged.

2 comments:

Zookeeper said...

If the UAW owns part of a car company, who would it bargain with? Would it be allowed into the sessions where bargaining strategies are set?

Having said that, when the workers own the company, there are a lot fewer people to ritually blame "management" when things go sideways.

Hell, I drive a Japanese car made in the US, and have a couple of marginally collectible German cars cluttering up my property, so I don't much care what happens to GM, Chrysler or Ford. Rambler and Packard are long gone and life carried on.

Latarnik said...

People who have the money to manufacture cars, may do it in China, Poland or Philippines. Possibly not in Nepal. UAW was extorting money from Americans and the rest of the world long enough. $100 an hour for the labourer does not make any sense to anybody except that extortionist. Billions of dollars pumped from American taxpayers to poorly managed Company is just a pillow in the pants of the lazy worker before final kick in the ass. There will be less bruises and no lacerations, but they will fall flat on their faces sooner or later. America is not producing transistor radios for 25 years, why should she manufacture cars, if they could be had for one fifth of the price from somewhere else?
National pride? Patrotism? Selfrespect? Bankers nor Union leaders do not seem to have any of them.