Autosavant reports:
Since Wednesday, GM has been making a big deal about its repayment of the remaining $5.8 billion balance of government loans ($4.7 billion to the US and $1.1 billion to Canada). GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre had this to say. “GM is able to repay the taxpayers in full, with interest, ahead of schedule, because more customers are buying vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse we build here in Fairfax. We are now building some of the best cars, trucks, and crossovers we have ever built, and customers are taking note. Our dealers are increasing their sales, we are investing in our plants, and we are restoring and creating jobs.”
That’s all well and good, but the reality of the situation – reinforced by an audit report provided to Congress this week by the TARP inspector general, Neil Barofsky – is the GM repaid the money with “other TARP funds currently held in an escrow account.”
At the time that GM was exiting bankruptcy (and began its reincarnation as the “New GM”), the governments of the US and Canada provided some $50 billion in assistance to the automaker. Most of that aid came in the form of an equity stake in GM; as has been well-documented, the US Treasury owns 61 percent of General Motors Company...
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