Not Your Father’s Bankruptcy

GM should have been allowed to go bankrupt months if not years ago, and without the “help” of Congress or the Obama administration. Now that it has finally come, an analysis of the distribution of the spoils reveals both method and motive.

GM’s bankruptcy pushes bondholders aside in favor of the U.S. government and the UAW. Though bondholders hold $27 billion in debt, they’ll get just 10% of stock.

How’s that compare with the other “stakeholders?” For spending $50 billion to bail out GM, the government will get 60% of the equity in the new GM; the UAW, which along with other unions gave millions to Democrats, will be repaid for its loyalty with 17.5% of the stock for $10 billion of unsecured debts.

Not unlike our nation’s financial crisis, those that caused the crisis employ more of the same and escape with the plunder.

They call it “restructuring.” We call it theft. Never in our memory has there been a more thorough, systematic effort to disenfranchise the shareholders and bondholders of a major American firm.

Has this happened before? Yes – well, almost. But these are different times – and a different judicial climate.

…in 1952, when President Harry S. Truman tried to seize control of the U.S. steel industry during a debilitating strike, the Supreme Court made him back down. And Truman had a real emergency on his hands: the Korean War.

By what authority is the Obama administration orchestrating this expedited bankruptcy and government takeover of a global corporate enterprise?

We pored over Article II of the Constitution, known as the Executive Powers Clause. Nowhere is the White House granted the right to override the time-tested bankruptcy process, to use Treasury money raised by taxing Americans to buy or bail out companies, to fire CEOs, to micromanage corporate policy, or to abrogate lawful contracts made by private parties.

Arrogance and incompetence have taken the place of justice and precedent. Where’s the outrage now?

8 thoughts on “Not Your Father’s Bankruptcy

  1. JRoosh quoted: ‘And Truman had a real emergency on his hands: the Korean War.’

    Then he asked: “By what authority is the Obama administration orchestrating this expedited bankruptcy and government takeover of a global corporate enterprise?”

    I’m surprised you don’t know the answer, JRoosh. You certainly did during the last administration, when it came up on a weekly basis as the justification for spying on Americans, jacking up the deficit and torturing prisoners at Gitmo.

    Don’t you know we’re fighting a WAR ON TERRAH? If the bondholders get more than 10 cents on the dollar, then the terrorists have won. Do you want our cars to be made by ‘Muricans or by Al Qaeda terrorists?

    Why do you hate America, JRossh?

  2. weekly basis as the justification for spying on Americans
    Context, please? What do you mean by ‘Spying on Americans?’? Which Americans? How was it justified? Has the government ever spied on Americans during war time before?
    jacking up the deficit
    Hahahahahahahahahaha. Maybe you are a clown. You’ve got the self-mockery down pretty well.

    and torturing prisoners at Gitmo.

    Poor little terrorists! Don’t worry Angry Clown will work very hard to let you kill more Americans!

  3. Mitch wondered: “Arrogance and incompetence have taken the place of justice and precedent. Where’s the outrage now?”

    Turn on Limbaugh. Read your own blog. You right wingers have outrage to burn. K-Rod has been driven to boldface. Angryclown hasn’t seen this much impotent rage outside a Kindergarten class where the teacher cancelled cookies and juice boxes.

  4. AssClown supports such blatant Liberal Fascism of the Obama Oligarchy taking control of GM. What next? GE?

    I am sorry if my text formatting frightened you, AssClown.

  5. Angryclown hasn’t seen this much impotent rage outside a Kindergarten class where the teacher cancelled cookies and juice boxes.
    You must be very young, Angry Clown, if you can’t remember the presidential elections of 2000 & 2004.

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