GM and the Bailout

General Motors
I saw an ad yesterday where the CEO of GM (Whitacre is his name) was saying that they had paid back their entire bailout loan plus interest, ahead of schedule. He goes on to say that GM was moving forward from there trying to be the great American car company it could be.

I didn’t believe it. So, I did some checking.

GM paid back the money to the government, by borrowing more money from the government. That’s right! They paid back their $6.5 Billion with interest by getting it from OTHER bailout money. Not only that, but GM was actually given $52 BILLION in bailout money. So this $6.5 billion they keep touting…is like 12% of what they owe the government. They don’t mention ANY of this in the ad. Not one word is said about the other $45.5 BILLION or that the money they paid back came from another pool of TARP money given to them by the Government.

But my favorite part is that when asked about why they are touting this as repayment in full, GM said “A year ago, no one thought we’d be able to repay this much.”

Pardon my French, but so the hell what? Because no one thought you’d do this much, you’re saying it’s okay to LIE about paying back your loan? Where are your ETHICS?

I hope Ford BURIES these guys for YEARS to come.