Bush Administration Grants $17.4 Billion Loans to GM and Chrysler

wow.......why?

I guess he wanted to do the grand finale of stupid things to do so he can be remembered.

Oh he will be remembered for far greater folly than this.

Thanks George,

Ya did the right thing.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

*does Robot dance*

Just great. Bush gave food to a starving dog and now it will scratch at your door knowing you will give it more.

A waste of good money, throwing good money down a bottomless pit.

And you know how? Are you at the board meetings of these companies? Have you scoured over ever number and figure for these companies?

Stop listening to the bobblehead media....

Sounds like a bunch of happy horse$h!t to me :-/

Merry Christmas 1UAW, now you can spend my tax dollars on your family, while I have now become one of the 7% unemployed. Wish my company would have been irresponsible and was allowed a government bailout.

Glad I could make your Christmas happy.

1AUW = Jimmy Hoffa

sorry...i have a degree in Architecture. Not just a generic degree off the shelf. More people are being hurt by this economic situation, not just your assembly line buddies, who yes make more than I do. What degree did you need for your job? My mistake, you didn't. And you wonder why people have contempt towards the UAW.

GodfatherHSM,

Look, I'm an engineer and it'd very possible I could get let go from my job at any moment. Your situation sucks, I'm sorry to hear you're out of work. Fortunately you're background seems like it will help you in finding new employment.

Either way, the idea of loosing Detroit would send millions into un-employment.... costing the country hundreds of billions, if not more. Bush (and believe me, I've never been a fan) had to come to the logical conclusion that a bridge loan is the best decision given the situation. He didn't want to do it, the GOP didn't want him to do it (hell they hate detroit), but as president, he had to make a decision based on facts and realities -- not popularity ratings.

I hope you can find work soon, I'm not sure what type of architect you are, but skilled minds are capable of great things.

1UAW, cmon now... be nice... It's too close to the holidays.

Happy Holidays everyone.

I'm sorry W caved on this and gave the automakers money. They will be back begging for more in a couple of months once they burn through these billions.

well,

People should call their politicians and tell them to get the banks in line and lending again. Maybe part of the TARP stipulations should be a restructuring of any Big3 debt, as well as lending to corporations like the big3.

Remember, its not that GM is in too much trouble that no bank wants to lend to them... Ford did it just before everything collapsed and they were in no better shape than GM. Listening to all these "analysts & experts" (ie morons), you think that banks are fully functioning and GM just isn't worth the risk.

Wow, it looks like Bush didn't want to call their bluff on bankruptcy. Merry Christmas Detroit.

So the Arabs/Muslims fooled President Bush, and now the garbage 3. Who else is left to fool him now? 30 days left. Anybody?

David Blaine

I think a round of thank yous are in order.

Thanks to our government for once again mishandling our money.

Thanks to GM and Chrysler for continuing their short-sighted ways and making products a lot of people don't even want.

And special thanks goes to the UAW for handicapping the industry with their antiquated vision and unfair demands.

Should have given 1 billion a month for 10 months to GM and 4 months to Chrysler so they would have to think on what to waste the money on.

GM & Chrysler spending money wisely...LOL! Get real.

They'll be back for more. Count on it.

The ultimate plan was not to get a bridge loan to business viability, it's to get a bridge loan until Obama comes to office.

The concessions GM & Chrysler supposedly agreed to are not legally binding, which means they can easily be negotiated under an Obama administration. That means it's highly likely that the car makers will canvass for less strict guidelines...or perhaps none at all.

Business as usual.

Well, one thing is for sure. They are walking on thin ice. We all learn from some of our lessons, but the price of greed is usually irreversible.

Look as badly run as the auto companies have been and the fact that there needs to be more UAW consessions,this needs to be put in perspective. Congress agreed to a $700 Billion bailout of the financial industry without requiring any plans as to how they are going to spend the money.The auto industry is the last bastion of manufactoring in this country by US owned companies. Further if the big 3 went down it would affect ALL the other Foreign based US car companies that have plants in this country. So most likely those non-union workers would be affected as well.Now I would like to see how the government is going to start pressuring the banks to start lending and stop tightening their lending criteria. That's going to be the key to this and the world economy turning around. Certainly what the've done so far has not worked. So come on Washington-Get your ass in gear and start getting the banks to lend money!

George is just injecting Morphine into a terminally ill patient. This might may take the pain away from Detroit but it won't stop the bleeding.

I wish the government would bail me out of my credit card debt. ANYWAYS...

Why was Ford worried about GM and Chrysler going down? The way I see it, that would have sent the loyal American Car buyers of GM and Chrysler over to Ford, eventually. Someone care to explain?

Shock to their supply base, as well as overall consumer confidence. If any of the big3, hell if Toyota, Honda, Nissan, GM, Ford, Chrysler, (might as well toss in Hyundai & the Germans) went under, the consumer confidence would plumet even more. Massive chain reaction.


Even I was shaky about buying a new GM car before this news. Now (depending on my financial situation), I feel confident about buying a GM. Regardless of what GM offers, it's not worth my money if GM dies. Knowing that they are going to pull through this mess instills confidence in me (the consumer) to buy their cars (possibly a truck..... after this latest damn blizzard.......)

George Bush =>> Lowest Approval Ratings ever
Lowest Approval Ratings =>> UAW stupdity & greed
UAW1 & Neutral =>> Two turds, who we'll all get to say
I told you so in 3 months when they are back for more money".

Hey UAW1, here's a short list of cars we all want to own: Pontiac Aztec, Buick RoadMaster Wagon, Chyrler Sebring, Ford Excursion and etc. Like I wanted the Big3 to make more of these cars with our bailout money - not!!

The current Congress has lower approval ratings than W and Obama boy is already stinkin' like rotten $h1t.

:-/

You're just sour, so stop. They got a loan, they make good cars and this financing they're getting from the government will allow them to FINISH the restructing process that has been ongoing for years (contrary to moronic popular belief). Ford isn't "hat in hand" right now because they got financing from the financial markets BEFORE everything collapsed.

You (like everyone else who hates the big3, notably extremist environmentalist), just saw this financial crisis as an opportunity to finally get rid of those "pesky guys" from Detroit who just won't go away. So what if they're a detrimental asset to the USA in innumerable ways, so what if GM goes away that means the cost to the taxpayers would be in the hundreds of billions, so what. (note my sarcasm)

Funny, you list three cars that are no longer in production... some of which haven't been for years in your argument against the Big3. And as for the Chrysler Sebring...... Don't tell me for a second the boys in Stuttgart just didn't notice during product development which happened years ago.

Had the US had a solid energy policy and strong regulations on the finance inustry / wall st., the Big3 wouldn't be in the position they were cast into starting a little over a year ago. Yes, they did REALLY stupid things in the past, but they've busted their chops to fix their misdoings (as is evident with their current/upcoming product lines). Give American companies and American talent a chance for once.

You can say what you want, truth be told, in 3 months they may very well ask for a larger LOAN.

They asked for 25billion up front and lines of credit in case the markets continue to stink. So you give them 17 billion and get upset when they might ask for a larger loan...after theyve already told you they were seeking a larger loan?

Look on the bright side, so long as things go according to plan (like chrysler in 1980), the taxpayers would be MAKING money off the big3. Consider it a small investment compared to the massive returns having a strong Detroit.

Approval raings:
Bush 32%
Congress 21%

Obama's is currently 41%

Actually, as of Dec. 15, Obama's approval rating was 76%.

from Inside Line

"If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers," Bush said in a White House statement. "Under ordinary economic circumstances, I would say this is the price that failed companies must pay — and I would not favor intervening to prevent the automakers from going out of business. But these are not ordinary circumstances. In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action. The question is how can we best give it a chance to succeed."

Of the federal funds, $13.4 billion will be paid out in December and January, according to administration officials. The final $4 billion hinges on the second installment of the Wall Street bailout funds from Congress. The government can call in the loans on March 31 if the firms cannot prove they are viable at that point. The details of the plan say "a firm will only be deemed viable if it has a positive net present value and can fully repay the government loan."

makes sense

What's funniest about this auto LOAN is that the car companies are getting a LOAN from funds already appropriated to be GIVEN to the crooks on Wall St. who got the world into this mess. It's not like the taxpayers are authorizing MORE money... just now they're going to get paid back and now, the Wall St. guys will be getting 2.49% less money to cover their losses.

Just thought I'd throw that idea out there... seems like no one has picked up on it.

Sounds good to me. Why is it that Wall St has been given a pass and has not had to show their restructured business plan?Further why are the banks STILL not lending money and why are the STILL tightening credit? This is the root of this global down turn in economies. The blame needs to be put on the banks,not the big 3 at this point. If there had not been this financial meltdown the big 3 wuld not have been on the verge of bankrupsty in the 1st place.Bottom line if banks do not lend then there is no economy and non of the auto makers will survive!!!

hopefully GMAC gets the bank status they want and lending will ease up. GMAC better make sure not to be lending to people with bad credit though... thats how we got in this mess in the first place.

President George W. Bush

2000 Conservitive, Neo-con, supply side, poster child.

2008 First in washinton to embrace socialism.

President Bush didn't want the big 3 Failure as part of his failed legacy, so it inspired him do do some work in his final days before cleaning out his desk.