The Obama General Motors Duplicity [Reader Post]

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For three years our consciousness has been bombarded with assertions from Obama, his handlers, and his justifiers, that he is pro-business, understands the private sector, and is a leader — after all did he not singlehandedly “save” General Motors and America’s auto industry? Enough with the lies already!

Now that there is an actual businessman running against him for the Oval Office rather than a pol, the President’s machine has been turning up the volume on Obama’s GM escapade. We too easily recall his preening three years ago as the media declared him the new CEO of General Motors. Today Obama claims that without him, there would be no auto industry in America and he further claims that GM is a roaring success.

With admiration from the vast majority of the media, Obama is spiking the football on his prime example of crony-capitalism. This is not just any version of capitalism. This three year saga of GM has been a White House mandated, directed, orchestrated, manipulated, sleaze filled, top-down, “I-know-better,” abuse of laws and industry with taxpayer money to achieve egoistic and self-serving purposes.

This Administration persevered in abusing its power to ignore laws and common sense, in order to pull-off the biggest heist in US government history. And it did so in broad daylight.

The fourth estate’s fear, adulation, and mostly uncomplicated ignorance, allowed this larceny to occur. Law makers allowed it to materialize without backlash. Taxpayers watched, confused. Some, not so confused, but unable to act.

Geithner orchestrated the redirection of TARP funds for the bailout – yes, that very same slush fund specifically established to bailout financial institutions, NOT corporations. While we may never fully know the total cost to taxpayers, and we will never know the full extent of the damage done to individuals harmed by the process, we can accept as a base amount the initial $80+ billion dollars from TARP and the government stock purchase of 60% ownership.

Why is this a “base” amount? On behalf of the Nation’s taxpayers, and circumventing the country’s bankruptcy/tax laws, the orchestrators of the GM scheme ALSO sacrificed taxpayer treasure in the form of a $45 billion gift of business-loss tax credit.

Section 382 of the tax code, limits net operating loss carry-forwards in ‘loss corporations.’ Did this restrict Obama, Jarrett, Axelrod and Geithner in any way? Not when they were buying the permanent financial backing of a powerful union. The same union which this year committed one half billion dollars to Obama’s re-election campaign. Did the rank and file have ANY say in what their leaders did with their union dues?

To circumvent laws limiting transfers of Net Operating Losses” (NOL), Geithner, (that infamous tax expert of tax cheating notoriety), issued “Notices” claiming the laws would not apply to the Treasury’s machinations as it converted TARP loans to GM for shares, and then sold those shares.

By law, accumulated tax write-offs evaporate in bankruptcy for ALL corporations, unless they are enjoying the process of Obama-commanded-bankruptcy. Do we really wonder how other auto manufacturers such as Ford, or any other corporations for that matter, felt about this serious breech of the Nation’s laws and assault on the capitalist system? This is politics at its worst.

Taxpayers were not provided an opportunity to opine on this $125 billion being used by an out-of-control Administration to purchase the eternal support of the AWU/UAW leadership. Keep in mind that the UAW was an unsecured creditor, unlike most of the creditors pillaged by this Administration. The union was gifted a 17% share position in GM in trade for some health and pension commitments and the UAW sold a third of this position for $3.5 billion when GM made a public share offering in 2010.

When you consider how team Obama handed control of GM to its union cronies while on the other hand it obliterated 100% of the original broadly held common shares; gave pennies on the dollar worth of shares to bond holders composed of families, retirees, middle class average Americans and pension funds; wiped out the debt held by GM supplier Delphi; gifted $1 billion to Delphi UAW retirees, but nothing to Delphi’s non-union and non-UAW retirees; stiffed the bond holders; terminated the existence of thousands of long-time dealerships who were not Obama funders; unceremoniously fired the GM CEO Rick Wagoner, replacing him with car czar Steve Rattmer who in turn placed crony Ed Whitacre as titular CEO while czar Rattner made all critical decisions (against all common sense, and corporate law and governance); politicized the restructure and politicized the eventual actualization of action plans for GM; wiped out non-union salaried employee pensions; enabled GM to pay for ads in China promoting the “The Birth of a Party” – a Chinese Communist Party for the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), . . . . you understand the full meaning of crony-capitalism as it is practiced in Beijing and Moscow.

Ask the retirees who depended on those bonds or the Pension, Mutual and Hedge funds which Obama so cavalierly demeaned as “speculators,” how they feel about the Obama version of “redistribution.”

The vast majority of individuals who were scammed weren’t aware of all the minutia of the complex deal. Many are very likely still in the dark about Obama’s redistribution of taxpayer cash, NOT to the needy, but to this Administration’s UAW friends, and in turn to himself. This is redistribution for Obama’s personal gain, and the personal gain of his crew.

Is it any wonder the top of the UAW’s food-chain has permanent passes to the White House?

Did the media admonish the President or Treasury Secretary for failing to carry out their fiduciary responsibilities? Did the media support the free enterprise system which the country’s economic health depends on? Not at all. The media still yawns as laws are trampled, and rights are assaulted.

When you have access to a camouflaged, almost limitless mountain of cash to purchase ‘friends,’ your dreams of world-grand-mastership might just take on a veneer of reality, particularly when over 85% of your nation’s MSM is championing your cause, though it doesn’t understand what your cause really is.

The lying and nauseating demagoguery continued unabated at a recent Colorado pep rally, “. . . we created 4½ million new jobs. We saved an auto industry on the brink of collapse. . . . . what we did with the auto industry, we can do it in manufacturing across America. . . . ,” bragged Obama.

Would it educate the President to point out the fact that before the bailout, 75% of GM cars were built in the U.S., while today 2/3 of GM employees are overseas and 75% of its automobiles are made outside the country with most of the manufacturing occurring in China? Such questions might trouble his evidently limited capacities and confuse his mind about his claims that Romney “Led the outsourcing of American jobs to India and China.”

This restructuring of a failing company by dictatorial decree was nothing more than theft from the highest power in government. If and when the details of this heist become clearer in the minds of all taxpayers, we may yet see legal recourse taken on behalf of those whose lives were damaged irreparably by the abusive and despotic actions of this Administration.

The return of America toward sustainable healthy economic growth, and away from 15% real unemployment, will only occur with leadership which comprehends and respects business and the entrepreneurial spirit, and not from a leader who has done nothing but live off the largesse of others and government.

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You’ve put so much historical info into such a compact essay.
My only wish would be for footnotes to back up where your many facts came from.
I believe them, but it is more useful to be able to get to their source without having to do innumerable searches.
But, hey!
I really liked it, 100%.

@Nan G: #1,

Thanks Nan G. I agree. This one was loaded for one of Skook’s angry bears, and could use a multitude of links given the buckshot is disperses. But then, it would be ALL RED, and would look like too much blood was spilt.

Nevertheless, every piece of it, even the machine-gunning paragraph 11, can be confirmed with a ‘highlight & search’ – to innumerable evidence.

The tough part was to keep it compact, given the scope of this story. IMHO it is one of the major stories of this Presidency, many details of which haven’t been brought to light or even been understood by our MSM. The sheer amount of abused taxpayer cash is monumental.

One of the worst elements which has remained under the radar has been the indecent trampling of the Nation’s bankruptcy and accounting laws by Obama, Geithner and Co.

@James Raider:

I’ve used this quote recently, but it fits so well at the end of your posting.

“When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion — when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing — when you see money flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors — when you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you — when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice — you may know that your society is doomed.” – Ayn Rand

@johngalt: #3,

Absolutely right with that pearl from Rand.

It would also be fitting to send those “undecideds” this one, . . . . “If you ask me to name the proudest distinction of Americans, I would choose—because it contains all the others—the fact that they were the people who created the phrase ‘to make money.’ No other language or nation had ever used these words before; men had always thought of wealth as a static quantity—to be seized, begged, inherited, shared, looted or obtained as a favor. Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created.”

@James Raider:

How about some from FA Hayek?

A claim for equality of material position can be met only by a government with totalitarian powers.
Friedrich August von Hayek

Even the striving for equality by means of a directed economy can result only in an officially enforced inequality – an authoritarian determination of the status of each individual in the new hierarchical order.
Friedrich August von Hayek

@johngalt: #5,

Sigh, . . . . if only Obama read anything but a teleprompter.

@johngalt:

jawohl, mein Fuhrer.

BTW, it’s nice to hear about Rand and her buddies, but what would Alisa Rosenbaum say? And would anybody pay attention? Would Ron Paul have named his son Rosenbaum Paul? Would the good citizens of Kentucky have elected Rosenbaum with such an handle?

Also, this just in: Willard Romney is the biggest liar in the history of politics. It’s official, and I don’t lie. 🙂 Not like Willard, anyway.

Embattled Obama has very little left but to play out his casting as the Jimmy Carter of the 2012 general election. Obama is spending more money than he is taking in as contributions; this because he can no longer garner the types of donations he collected in the 2008 election. My guess is that people across the country are beginning to believe that a Romney victory, perhaps landslide, would be better than 4 more years of unemployment, lies, deception, and boasting for what very, very little Obama has done.

Mr. Raider:

This is the most complete and concise synopsis of the GM fiasco I have seen. What ammazes me about this takeover is that the pensions of millions of non GM union hacks were ransacked. Crickets were all we heard. Will the truth ever be out about obama? (in the main stream) Do people even want to hear the truth? Does the truth even matter to 40% of the population?

Being a UAW union member, this was not an easy read. Some makes sense but a lot seems to me to be paranoid bending of the facts (but as I said much is true). You complain Mr. Raider about some of the TARP money going to the auto industry! Would you have had more of it go to the banking industry who got ALL of us into this mess to start with, have gotten billions to save themselves and STILL don’t want to lend?

@rockybutte:

You do understand what Hayek was saying, do you not? No, I don’t suppose so, with your responses.

JG, Rocky proved he doesn’t understand anything but hate for those who dare disagree with him or inject reality into his fantasy world.

What’s even more disgusting about the “bailout” of GM is that they are back on track to go bankrupt again!

@chicken thief: #11,

Chicken Thief, thank you. The Administration concocted a convoluted brew for GM, some of which reached the evening news, but most did not and Obama got away with what can only be called the biggest heist of taxpayer money in the Nation’s history.

He funded the UAW which is a major cornerstone of his near term plans for personal cash and re-election, and may well be part of his and his handlers’/backers’ long term plans to his ascendency as head of an international organization. If you look at what the union’s current and former leadership has been doing in foreign countries such as Brazil, you get a sense that these loons have grand plans. Guys like Soros pushing for one world unified currency etc., are licking their chops.

@Hard Right:

Anyone who would remotely compare Hayek to national socialism could not begin to understand what either he, or Rand, ever said. More likely, he is following typical leftist tactics in disparaging and demonizing the messenger, rather than discussing the message itself. And it’s equally outrageous that one would do so considering Obama enacted such an obviously fascist move in “buying” shares of GM, essentially nationalizing the business.

It seems that when it comes to politics, liberal/progressives, and those who don’t wish to acknowledge that the Democratic Party is not only full of them, but being led by them, that those people instantly shut the logical part of their brain function in favor of emotional rhetoric. Or they become simple parrots repeating whatever the Democratic party line is.

@Hard Right: #13,

GM wants to delay what appears to be inevitable until after the Presidential election. Then, as Obama told Medvedev, he’ll be able to do whatever he wants. That should worry all taxpayers.

The history of the last hundred years is full of examples demonstrating what happens when the sheep accept the dictum The end justifies the means. It worked so well for tens of millions who were slaughtered by Mao, Stalin, etc.

@johngalt:

I definitely agree with you.
I would also argue that the emotions you mention are driven by an extreme need to feel good about themselves and superior to others.
It’s why they insist on doing the same thing over and over. They desperately need to believe in the fantasy image they have constructed of themselves.

@James Raider:

Being of Cuban descent, I’ve become aware of the type of people who believe the ends justifies the means. It’s why I don’t support liberals.

JR, great piece, however, the closing of non-Democratic dealerships was the manure icing of the corruption cake.

After Obama’s humiliation and prosecution, I hope these dealerships will be reinstated and reimbursed for the crimes committed against them in the name of Obama’s corruption.

If Romney doesn’t pursue the corruption prosecution of Obama immediately, I for one will be in the vanguard of bloggers who will be looking for an honest candidate in 2016.

@James Raider: GM wants to delay what appears to be inevitable until after the Presidential election. Then, as Obama told Medvedev, he’ll be able to do whatever he wants. That should worry all taxpayers.

JR, that’s exactly why I was pointing out that on the US Debt Clock Obama and the Fed have made holding debt so cheap that one number actually is presently going down!
It is the number called “Net Interest on Debt.”
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

WHY is it dropping?
Obama had the Fed lower interest rates to near-zero.
This will serve the purpose of delaying when Obama needs to come to the HOUSE to try to get a debt ceiling extension.
He actually has no chance of extending this delay past the election BUT he tried.

Such cheap credit is also a point Obama makes on the stump.
As if we could obtain low rates for our home buying or business loans.
Not true.
Almost all the low credit is going to the government instead.
We are almost entirely shut out.
But AFTER the election, should Obama get another four years, he can blow past debt ceilings just like he spends without a budget and does so many things by presidential fiat.
And, little guys who want to use other people’s money to take risks?
Not unless they are FOO (Friends of Obama).

@Gary Fern: #12,

Great question. Answer: NO! Hell No. The bankers and Wall Street only delayed the inevitable and now the government will be in a much, much weaker position to handle the disaster around the corner. Bernanke will have no choice but to keep printing dollars.

BTW, if you have time, I would welcome your pointing out where I erred through “paranoid bending of the facts.” Thanks.

@Skookum: #20,

Thanks Skook. I think that those dealers got hit so hard by having their businesses, many had been around since the first days of GM, slammed shut by force – they were too broke to take on Obama. They were threatened and blackmailed.

As you’ll recall, the Administration pulled stunts like ENDING WARRANTEES on cars they’d sold if they didn’t go along. I also think many were so stunned and financially strapped by the impact that it may take years before they resurface with a vengeance on the fraud which was perpetrated on them.

Also typical of the Obama talent as CEO, is that his car czar Rattner, knew about as much about cars and the auto industry as a wet rodent. Rattner was a political hack, married to Maureen White a former Democratic National Committee finance chair, who was the front man executing all major decisions. Where was the media? . . . Crickets.

BTW Skook, you’ll find that practically all of the “shuttered” dealerships, GM and Chrysler, had donated to Republicans.

@Nan G: #21,

Great insight Nan. It’s all about that Interest Rate.

Such cheap credit is also a point Obama makes on the stump.

Yup, and when he tells this incredible and rather obvious lie, and the crowds applaud, the media remains silent.

I fully concur with your sentiment that “he can blow past debt ceilings just like he spends without a budget and does so many things by presidential fiat” – and that may just do the whole country in.

@James Raider:

More than anything it shows how stupid the people really are, JR. Not to mention that if they do know anything about it, they are being extremely disingenuous to others, and intellectually dishonest with themselves.

Liberal/progressives, and their minions who support the Democratic party, are well versed in sticking their heads in the sand when it comes to critical commentary on Obama, and the crimes he has committed against We, the People.

@johngalt:

That is the other major trait of the left–pathological denial of reality. It’s also what makes them such lousy students of history.

JR, #24: Yes, I read that little fact in disbelief when it was happening and thought of the early Bolsheviks taking over Russia.

I can’t imagine the heart break of losing a multi-million dollar business because you didn’t donate to the Democrat Party; of course our crusading media, always standing up for the little guy, thought it was just “peachy.”

The indirect result was, Democrat funders were just relieved of a major portion of their competition and their chances of survival were increased, all because they pissed in the Obama communal urinal of slush funds.

Doesn’t anyone see what he is talking about when he says he could do the same thing to every business in America: you either piss in his urinal or you are out of business. This guy belongs in prison.

@Skookum: #28,

Doesn’t anyone see what he is talking about when he says he could do the same thing to every business in America: you either piss in his urinal or you are out of business. This guy belongs in prison.

I am certain that in your travels, you have come across another “OBAMA PHENOMENON” – Senior business leaders, (I use senior here in the sense that they run large enterprises), FEAR repercussions from this Administration, if they say anything in public which is remotely negative about Obama.

I have never in my life, encountered this before. Ever. Under the radar, there exists very serious trepidation, almost a phobia, that the Obama handlers will attack, with assistance from wherever in senior levels of government they can get the attack to be launched.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with him, but one guy who came out of the closet and even admitted his fear of reprisal for his pushback on Obama, was Cliff Asness. He runs a very large hedge fund out of Connecticut and seems to take no prisoners.

JR, as you probably know Niall Ferguson, a Harvard Economist, stood up and wrote in Newsweek:

Now the blowhards are standing up and saying he doesn’t have the moral integrity to teach at Harvard. He had the audacity to list Obama’s failures. How can we expect to have a unified dystopia if people stand up and give us the truth. It’s just not cricket; oh by the way, he is a Brit, if that tells you anything. The Left all has their collective panties in a wad, don’t try to visualize too long, and it’s a mess. Makes you wonder how often they do their laundry.

Intimidation, one of the main instruments of the Left from the union thug to the EPA these guys are pure evil.

@Skook:

I saw the attempted takedown of what Ferguson wrote, and it was the typical leftist strawman attack.
Like I said, when they can’t face reality, they create a new one that conforms to their views rather than the other way around.

What is GM up to?
GM is in effect playing Russian roulette with taxpayer dollars.
See if you can follow this:
GM is the only automaker not to pay back its bailout loan.
GM is now considering using this bailout money to buy international operations from Ally.
Ally is the only bailed out financial institution not to repay its bail-out loan.
Ironically, Ally needs this bail out from the bailed-out GM in order to try and pay off its own unpaid bailout loan!
If Ally needs to sell these international operations to get the money together to pay back its own bailout, what does GM expect to make with these operations?

Obama funny business.
It is all smoke and mirrors, folks.

General Motors: Building Houses and Bailing Out Previously Bailed-Out Banks, Using Bailout Funds

@Nan G: #32,

Nan G, good to see you’re digging down into this pile of dishonesty, fraud, and theft. You’ve nailed a good one on this ‘pick-up’.

Obama, and his progressive court-jesters and the UAW heads, have control over a huge cash-hoard thanks to taxpayers – GM is just a vehicle, (an excuse), through which they can continue the stealing and redirection of funds.

Ally, as you know, is the former GMAC, and is a full fledged financial institution. GM has no business buying Ally, given the state of both firms. However, . . . .

GM with ALLY, will become the personal piggy banks of Obama and his union buddies. “Buddies”meaning = leaders NOT the rank and file who have nothing to say about this – Union thugs being what they are.

The way Geithner structured the deal, GM doesn’t have to repay the taxpayer, even though its leadership has lied otherwise.

Wouldn’t YOU like to have control of a financial institution with access to taxpayer funds?

• Is the MSM highlighting this fraud? Not much.
• Does the MSM even understand what is really going on here?
• Is the MSM frozen in a state of fear of reprisal?

@rockybutte: Any proof or just blowing smoke our your A hole??

@Hard Right: Love the coffee!!

@Nan G: #32,

If Ally needs to sell these international operations to get the money together to pay back its own bailout, what does GM expect to make with these operations?

ALLY is holding a fire sale on $30-billion worth of international assets because it’s in trouble. GM is knocking on the door. As far as the $17+ billion Ally has not paid back, the taxpayers shouldn’t hold their collective breaths.

Owning/controlling a banking / financial institution is an awesome thing these days when you have genius like Bernanke keeping interest rates at ZERO into the foreseeable horizon. A monkey on a stick can make money in that game.

BTW, GM wants in the international operations rather than the U.S. – isn’t that just about perfect?
Giethner is the one directing traffic on this. Obama and his court jesters will be able to play “off-shore.” Does it get any better than that?