So the Capitalists at GM, Chrysler and the entire financial sector put quick personal gain first and ignored long-term health of the firms. They looted their employers while screwing the workers and ran the companies into the ground.

The internal contradictions destroyed capitalism.

Now the Unions and the People own the means of production.

Q. E. Flippin' D.

The company is still broken, it still employs too many people, the pension and retiree benefits overhang is still the same size. So let's say for the sake of argument that Obama shrinks the company by half. That wasn't the problem on the expense side of ledger. GM never made that claim. Their claim, right or wrong was that pension and retire benefits 'overhang' was bleeding the company white. Those people are still retired, those people are still receiving benefits. Unless you're planning on kicking them all to the curb there's not much that Obama Motors can do to change that. Whereas Obama Motors has figured out a way, Soviet Style to keep a bad company operating so that a portion of the workers are kept on the payroll, a large number of them will not. And then they........what? Go to work at the People's Red Revolution First October Industrial Combine #57?

It seems somehow fitting that we finally elect a black president when everything is f-ed up beyond repair. Barack is like the handyman who fixes up a hotel room after a frat party.

They are at the bottom of the fiduciary pecking order. While secured creditors, at the top of the pecking order, get about 30 cents on the dollar.

Obama has created an atmosphere where financial and contract law will be rendered meaningless. Credit to businesses will take a huge hit causing a further contraction. And why not when being a secured creditor is heretofore meaningless.

... the only logical thing for American consumers to do is...

if you buy an American automobile -- then buy Ford.

Success must be rewarded. Failure must be punished.

The alternative is a long, slow downwards spiral to mediocrity. If we are not there already.

Do what's right. For the country's future. For your children's future.

Do what's right. For the country's future. For your children's future.

I suspect it's too late to save this mess. The time to act was decades ago, when we were being told that giving Wall Street everything they wanted was the best way to assure our prosperity.

They got everything they wanted, then they stole the rest. Now we're all screwed.

Sure they suck, they fall apart and you can't get them serviced but you would be doing your part for the revolution.

An obsolete economy to rescue an obsolete industry. Seems about right.

General Motors had how many years to retool to more ecomomical cars? Alternative fuel cars? And now we are to take pity on them during this "humbling" experience of bankruptcy? Not in my book.

They didn't deserve a bailout to begin with. Neither did Chrysler or Ford.

Hope they serve as examples as to what can happen to other "Big Businesses."

I'm glad that you will not be buying any more of those Obama-socialist cars in the US. May I recommend then that you purchase your next automobile from the libertarian-minded countries such as Japan or Germany, where they make their manly-man cars under the no-coddling, Cato inspired rock ribbed governments that habor neither rules nor regulation over how the triumphant capitalists over there make their cars?

Failing that, I suppose you can purchase cars outfitted with those wonderful libertarian John Galt perpetual motion engines. And a pony too.

We could have saved the $50 billion and gotten to EXACTLY the same point. But now, thankfully, with government ownership, GM never need make money or improve or fix anything at all. About half of the UAW workers today get to keep their jobs pounding out cars that still no one wants, in order to pay for half of the cost of the retiree benefits overhang in place today. The other half of the UAW workers will simply be given benefits while the half of the overhang will just be grandfathered into Social Security.

So now that Hummer, Saturn, Pontiac and Saab are on the chopping block that will leave Caddy, Chevy, Corvette, Buick and GMC to.......what? Make the same crap no one wants?

Good plan. Obama should sell his shares to Tata immediately.