As Dan brought to our attention below, Jim Lindgren relates the government writing off over $7 billion to Chrysler. A nice little gift in and of itself.
That leaves the $6 billion in ongoing loans that Obama mentioned, correct?
Apparently not. From Evan Newmark, at the WSJ’s Deal Journal, we learn:
Perhaps, the Obama team doesn’t believe that America can handle the truth of the Chrysler bailout’s full cost.
Let’s run the numbers. Take the $12.8 billion in taxpayer funds that have already been extended. Add the $1.5 billion lent to Chrysler Financial. Add, say, $2 billion in DOE “alternative†fuel loans. (It actually could be as much as $6 billion). Tack on the cost of Chrysler’s pro-rata piece of the “cash for clunkers†program, say $200 million.
Presto! Taxpayers will be putting up at least $16.5 billion for the Chrysler bailout. That isn’t even close to Obama’s magical $6 billion.
Parting thought, Mr. Newmark?
So go ahead, chalk up another victory for the opacity of politics over the openness of good government. It isn’t its first win in the Obama presidency. And it won’t be its last
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Best non-mustard post ever!
I dunno, we talkin’ dijon or plain yellow?
Okay, I can’t compete with any sort of clever condiment post. Brain lesion, I have a brain lesion. People should judge me accordingly.
it’s just… well, what do you do about these things? oh, that’s a really big number, thanks Barry! also, I’ve had my brain eated by German accountants.
Beer can cure that, or a mustard plaster.
Chrysler is an appetizer, GM is the opening course, then the main meal will come. Health, Energy, Communications, if they have the chance to eat the entire meal. Let’s keep the man from his waffle. He needs a radical diet. Fasting even.
I’ve hinted at this before so I’ll just say it. Many analysts are freaked out. We say weird shit about the greeks, that’s just a way of saying that things are getting hard to predict. If you press us, we’ll talk about the necessity of stability.
Anyone listening?
Anyone?
It can get worse. It can.
Damn Dan, with his clever mustard posts!
(Ed: Mickey, you might get audited this year.)
Drip, drip, drip…
Make giant puppet heads and posters about KKKORPORATE WELFARE IZ TEH SUKK!!!
It’s what all the cool kids do.
I so wanna call my cousin. Ask him what he thinks of teh One’s fiscal responsibility.
Anyone catch Dick Morris yesterday on Hannity (the radio show) – he went into some pretty interesting details comparing Bill Clinton to ‘Bama. And predicted that Hillary will remain a loyal foot soldier for ‘bama as long as his numbers are strong.
Keith Hennessey, who worked in Bush 43’s White House economic advisory shop from 2002 on, first as a deputy, then from 2008-9 in the senior position that Larry Summers now holds, wrote up a Chrysler post a couple of days ago, laying out the hazards of the Obama approach to the polity and the economy, but then challenged his readers to choose from among five options in the alternative. A reasonable discussion ensued in his comments section. He then followed on with a second post, stressing the dislocation in job losses to auto workers inherent in the free market choice of most of his readers. Bear in mind that he was involved in writing the original bridge loan deals with GM and Chrysler at the end of the Bush administration.
I’m still trying to remember which party it was that was supposedly all for corporate welfare and bailing out fat cats. Nobody seems to want to tell me.
And the amazing part is they were not selling before the crash. I wont by a Chrysler now if they gave it to me, and I already paid for it twice, maybe more but whos counting.
Would you lend money to anything this guy can touch? It is time to think seriously about taking some of the 401K money and moving it out of the reach of the kleptocracy.
Saw this yesterday, GM is planning a new form of bankruptcy.