General Motors is now notorious for reaching deep into the pockets of taxpayers to bail itself out of a bad situation. In 2008, under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, President Bush doled out the first round of what eventually became a $50 billion bailout of the Detroit automaker. With that, the United States government became a majority owner in the company. (more)
On Tuesday, an independent actuary released a report on the finances of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The report showed that FHA now has a 50% chance of requiring a taxpayer bailout in the near future. (more)
President Obama glowingly defended the $85 billion auto industry bailout during a speech to Detroit auto workers Friday, saying “the investment was worth it.” (more)
President Barack Obama will take his re-election campaign to a General Motors plant on Friday where he will tout the new free trade deal with South Korea, and likely again champion his $60 billion 2009 bailout of the auto industry. (more)
The United States Postal Service is going to lose $10 billion this year. Why? It is losing business to e-commerce, and it cannot reduce its expenses fast enough due to legislative mandates and onerous union contracts. Without legislative action, the Postal Service will not be able to meet payroll by next summer. This week, the president finally released his proposal for saving the Postal Service. That the president’s proposal was released as part of his “deficit-cutting” package was Orwellian. That he suggests it would save the Postal Service is absurd. (more)
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. taxpayers likely lost $1.3 billion in the government bailout of Chrysler, the Treasury Department announced Thursday. (more)
Despite our own huge debt problems, President Obama wants to pledge billions of dollars (if he can get the Chinese to loan us the money) to the International Monetary Fund to help the EU bail out Greece. Instead of listening only to his Euro-elite chums, Obama would benefit from a conversation with the no-nonsense folks in Finland’s True Finn party. I recently met with some party leaders in Helsinki and learned that True Finns are causing a ruckus not just in Finland but in the entire EU for their steadfast opposition to the Greece/Spain/ Portugal/Ireland bailouts, and the party’s popularity is surging as a result. (more)
As the IMF gets ready to choose a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned following his arrest on charges that he sexually assaulted and raped a hotel housekeeper, it would be a good thing to step back for a moment and ask: What should the IMF do? (more)
Imagine the following scenario: Your irresponsible teenage son has spent far beyond his monthly allowance. As a result, he’s overdrafted his bank account and incurred a nasty bank fee. Now, as a parent struggling to pay your own bills, which of the following two reactions would you choose? Would you be inclined to discipline your child and make him pay his debt? Or would you think it better to increase his future allowance in the hope he stays on budget next time? Any responsible parent knows the answer to this simple question. Only in Washington could this sort of common-sense, kitchen-table logic be puzzling. (more)
Q. GM’s recent sales surge–what’s their secret? Great new models? Superior quality? A: Heavy price-cutting to goose sales (at an inevitable cost in profits). … Maybe that’s why GM stock is plunging priced so realistically. … P.S.: GM has now begun selling Chinese-made GM cars outside of China. Right now these are small Chevies aimed at developing markets. How long before they are Buicks and Cadillacs marketed in this country? You think Americans won’t buy a Chinese-made Cadillac? Those must be the same Americans who would never buy a Japanese luxury car. … True, the Chinese Caddies won’t be as well made. They will almost certainly be better made. (In the latest Consumer Reports survey, Cadillac still had “below-average reliability“). … (more)
Every right-thinking American understands it is the federal government’s solemn duty to not only create jobs but also to save them. This makes the slow federal response to the bankruptcy announcement from book retailer Borders and the resulting layoffs especially disturbing. I understand that Washington is preoccupied with the budget deficit and budget cuts, but let’s consider some common-sense, job-saving steps the federal government can take without spending a dime. (more)
In response to concerns about the future of unfunded state and local government employee pension plans, Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz introduced legislation Thursday to preempt federal bailouts of these unfunded liabilites. (more)
Speaking for the President of the United States on ABC’s This Week, CEA Chairman Austan Goolsbee launched this analysis of the upcoming need to raise the limit on federal debt: (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department says its bank bailouts are over, but the spending continues. (more)
UPDATE – 7:20 P.M. – Sen. Olympia Snowe, Maine Republican, announced late Monday she will support the financial regulation bill, in what appears to guarantee passage of the measure into law. (more)
Protesters in Ireland are next to protest the forced bailout of their country. (more)
Building anti-incumbent sentiment has fueled a slew of populist measures in the Senate this week. (more)
In a sign that a bipartisan deal is much farther away from being reached than had been thought, Senate Republicans said Monday they will likely offer an alternative comprehensive bill on financial regulatory reform if they defeat Democrats’ attempts Monday to move forward on debate with the bill as it is currently written. (more)
Key Senate Republicans said Sunday that while the financial regulation bill is headed in right direction, it is not tough enough on large financial institutions that require government intervention in case they fail, and they indicated that all 41 Republican senators will vote against a procedural motion Monday in order to gain leverage in ongoing negotiations. (more)
Europe gave the all-clear for its airspace on Thursday as recriminations flew over refunds for stranded passengers and the 1.7 billion dollar cost to the airline industry. (more)
