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Politics : Actual left/right wing discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (8656)	11/24/2010 6:56:57 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10087

GM could have gone in to bankruptcy earlier, and probably emerged mostly intact without all of the bailouts. It could have gone in to bankruptcy when it did and emerged from it without all the political interference in the process, favoring unions over holders of senior notes, despite the fact that those bondholders where senior to the unions as creditors. In fact the interference here may increase GMs future operating costs (since the unions took less of a hit), and future borrowing costs (since lenders know that if push comes to shove the government might throw them under the bus in favor of the unions). So even if your statement - "If we had allowed GM ot fall it would have devasted this country." - is true, it doesn't support what was done. And its truth is rather questionable. Sure there is disruption whenever a major company goes out of business, but doing so helps free up the resources it was using to be utilized more efficiently and profitably. Ike built the interstate highway system. Was he a socialist too? The highway system is mostly socialist. Its government provision of goods or services. But I wouldn't say the country with Ike as president, or even with Obama in office, is socialist. It is however moving in that direction, as the government takes over more and more of the economy, not in terms of direct ownership of formerly private companies for the most part (although we are even getting some of that), but in terms of how much of the gross production of the economy is directed by government through its taxing, spending, and regulation.