Quote:
Originally Posted by gtahvit
In my opinion they are better qualified than the federal government. And I don't mean political party. I mean Feds. I've worked for the feds for over 15 years. They don't understand profit and loss, profit before taxes, marketing, revenue, etc. The Feds deal quite literally in monopoly money. They don't see the end to end flow of money that companies and corporations have to deal with on an hourly basis in most cases.
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Ok. What would be your prescription for GM? What, if anything, do you think is wrong with GM and what should be done about it?
Personally, I think the benefit structure set up by GM has to go away. That really can only be done through bankruptcy or at least the threat of it. I think Chevy and Cadillac are viable entities; I think Hummer, Saturn, etc. largely are not. The best way to preserve Chevy, and by extension the Camaro, is through this process. I think it could've been avoided but there was no way any bank would ever lend to GM to finance a reorganization, not given the banks' financial troubles and not given GM's already shaky financial status. If this was happening in 1999 or 2002, no way would the government need to get involved. The private free market would've solved the problem.
I do not think a protracted court battle that takes place for the next 3-4 years is a good idea because 1) the outcome is unpredictable, which would further damage GM's reputation with consumers if anything actually survives, and 2) a bankruptcy court judge is as not well-equipped to do a reorganization (as opposed to just liquidating the whole thing) as a group of people, private and public (people forget that debtholders, management and other stakeholders have a large say. Even if Wagoner was deposed, these groups are definitely not just along for the ride. They would've raised unholy hell if they were cut out of the process).
btw I also work for the federal government. The lawyers here are a damn sight sharper than a lot of private attorneys I know personally. That's why I have more confidence in the government than most people here.