"Car Czar" Could Force Bankruptcy By April, In Proposal

Bloomberg:

The U.S. Treasury may adopt a plan that would let a car czar or the Treasury secretary force General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC into bankruptcy if the automakers don't show they can survive without government aid, a U.S. senator said.

GM and Chrysler would be required to submit viability plans by March 31 or lose any further U.S. support, Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, told reporters in Detroit yesterday. The Treasury plan would resemble a measure passed by the U.S. House last week that was rejected by the Senate.

"I expect that the terms would be similar to the ones that were in the House bill," Levin said. "The power rests in the hands of either the czar or the Secretary of the Treasury to force bankruptcy by March 31."

Read the whole story: Bloomberg

Comments

[Seeker14]

There is no gentle or politically correct way to say this: Yet another overly simplistic assessment of an extraordinarily complex state of affairs warranting dismissal from thoughtful consideration. Take the time to consider the below analysis, and in the words of Pol Pot, "reeducate" your pattern of thought...­please


http://www.slideshare.net/GHHLLC/automotive-industry-analysis-2008-martha-hindes-e-motion-reportscom3-presentation

[The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker]

Since now we're all Communists, with socialized banks and industry, maybe we can all stand in line to be issued our free cars.

(I mean come on, if we're going to be burdened with Communism let's go all the way, none of this lemon socialism with privatizing profits and socializing losses. Let's just call a spade a spade and move on.)

[RumiSouth]

How about we just nationalize Detroit and sell it at a profit when the companies are retooled?

[FDRJFKLBJ]

Wow. Car Czars are so great. Those Czars worked out so well for the Russians.

[Kassandra]

BushCO will be taking down 10% of the American economy. That, along with looting the Treasury of the USA ought to insure another Great Depression. don't anybody tell me that's not what they wanted from the get go. They've been trowing our $$ around like drunken sailors since they "took" office.

Forget about the 700 billion bailout. It is the TRILLIONS Bernanke is throwing to the banks, plus losing our last American industry, that will take US down

[GKHaley]

What we are seeing is the opening salvo in the social wars to come. The U.S. is on the brink of social upheaval that will make the 60's look like a Sunday school picnic. The rich will be shedding crocodile tears left and right.....­.......unt­il........­.

[nikky]

THEY DON'T WANT TO HELP THOSE AMERICAN CAR MANUFACTURERS THERE HAS TO BE A REASON WHY THEY ARE MORE IN TUNE WITH THE FOREIGN CAR MAKERS I WOULD NOT BUY ANOTHER FOREIGN CAR AND I WOULD HOPE THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER AMERICANS WHO FEEL THE SAME WAY BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON THERE REPUBS ARE REALLY TRYING TO RUIN THEM

[Kassandra]

They want the middle class and the unions dead. They never got over slav.ery and the profits that brought. Say "Hello" to the New World Order.

Go read this: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/15/bob-corkers-chumps-in-the-senate/

[pinseeker]

They never got over slavery. Who's They ?

[johncando]

You are 1 in 350,000,000 its to bad the rest follow Shelby

[whatt]

NIKKY, I HAVE SAID ALL ALONG I WOULD NOT BUY A FOREIGN CAR, I COME FROM A LONG LINE OF UNION WORKERS, ANYONE THAT DOESN'T BELIEVE IN UNIONS CAN GO TO HE##

[PhilipTaylor]

Is this simply a way for BUSH&PAULSON to delay the Bailout?

They know what Shape these companies are in and they are forcing them into bankruptcy this month with all these delays!

Bush probably never planned on helping them in the first place and this was a delay tactic to cause bankruptcy! It will be Bush's Fault if that happens!

Why let Congressmen run our Car Companies? They have no experience!
If they want to run a company then quit Congress and start a company of their own!

[johncando]

The overall Government with Shelby in the leed, hope their lemmings and go over the same cliff.

[Erdgeist]

If government decides not to help either GM and Chrysler the economy will go into a depression with 10 to 20% unemployment and massive home foreclosures. Then the common knuckle-dragging American will understand that putting 3 million people out of work is, in the long run, very costly.

[CalculatedRiskTaker]

The way I see it, every time someone buys a foreign car ($30,000) it puts an American out of work for 6 months.

[GKHaley]

Isn't it funny that most "repuglicans" would not drive anything but an American car yet most "Democraps" would not own anything but a foreign car? Yet it is the Democraps that are wanting the bailouts and the Repuglicans that are trying to block it? The Repuglicans are supposed to be the "Patriots" and the Democraps are supposed to be Pragmatists so what is going on? I don't consider giving US tax dollars to foreign companies to be patriotic and I don't consider buying foreign cars very pragmatic so what does that make me?

[ErnestineBass]

From the Bloomberg article: "Levin believes there is $15 billion left in the TARP program to aid automaker's operations­.".

I'd like to see Levin's EXACT statement, because if that's the gist of it, WHAT HAPPPENED TO THE OTHER $685 BILLION????

Never before has this country witnessed such brazen thievery.

[johncando]

where is the 25 billion promised? has this been pocketed by Shelby?

[blastocyst]

Some projections foretell North American vehicle sales under 10 million for 2009. Quite an adjustment.

[darthdarcy]

The "Car Czar" will really be the anti Union forced labor Czar...!

Anything to destroy the earning power and standard of living for each and every average American..­!

[blastocyst]

So very true. These jobs were the 'gold standard' for the middle-class for many decades. The impetus for the rising tide that lifted many boats.
Now they've the fetid mud-flats to cushion their landing. Plop.

[KillTheMessenger]

Middle class people do not work on assembly lines. So how can these jobs that are completely interchangeable and have no inherent security attached to them be the "gold standard"? Or did they sell lumps of coal as gold to you?

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Now THAT oughta help with sales.

The lede SHOULD be: "Car Czar to be given power to force restructuring to stave OFF bankruptcy­."

Fercrissakes.

[KillTheMessenger]

Nothing will help with sales. People who are deeply worried about the future are unlikely to trade six months to a year of financial stability for a marginally newer car.

[GKHaley]

Why is it, do you think, that people are worried about the future. Could it be that the Repuglicans have sold it out from under the USA?

[johncando]

non of them will go into it because if one did it will bring them all down Toyota and Honda too. Then millions will be out of work. ( you mark my words.)