Clean Energy Payola

How Obama spread your $$ around to his "Green" buddies, in a convenient poster...

[h/t - Doug Ross]

GM's Plan: Using Govt $ to pay back Govt $ to get more Govt $

#hhrs #tcot #rs #sgp
GM knows its has a problem. It knows that many Americans may not consider buying a GM vehicle while the company is still in effect, a branch of the United States Government.

That would explain why they feel the need to go on TV with ads hype the meme that its has paid back its debt to the government.



Unfortunately, this is all bunk.

GM CEO Ed Whitacre announced in a Wall Street Journal column Wednesday that his company has paid back its government bailout loan "in full, with interest, years ahead of schedule." He is even running TV ads on all major networks to that effect--a needless expense given that a credulous media is only too happy to parrot his claims for free. Detroit Free Press' Mike Thompson, for example, advises bailout proponents to start "warming up their vocal chords" to jeer their opponents with chants of "I told you so."

But before belting out their victory aria, GM-boosters ought to hear the whole story--not just the fairytale version about Government Motors' grand comeback that Mr. Whitacre is feeding them.

Uncle Sam gave GM $49.5 billion last summer in aid to finance its bankruptcy. (If it hadn't, the company, which couldn't raise this kind of money from private lenders, would have been forced into liquidation, its assets sold for scrap.) So when Mr. Whitacre publishes a column with the headline, "The GM Bailout: Paid Back in Full," most ordinary mortals unfamiliar with bailout minutia would assume that he is alluding to the entire $49.5 billion. That, however, is far from the case.

Because a loan of such a huge amount would have been politically controversial, the Obama administration handed GM only $6.7 billion as a pure loan. (It asked for only a 7% interest rate--a very sweet deal considering that GM bonds at that time were trading below junk level.) The vast bulk of the bailout money was transferred to GM through the purchase of 60.8% equity stake in the company--arguably an even worse deal for taxpayers than the loan, given that the equity position requires them to bear the risk of the investment without any guaranteed return. (The Canadian government likewise gave GM $1.4 billion as a pure loan, and another $8.1 billion for an 11.7% equity stake. The U.S. and Canadian government together own 72.5% of the company.)

But when Mr. Whitacre says GM has paid back the bailout money in full, he means not the entire $49.5 billion--the loan and the equity. In fact, he avoids all mention of that figure in his column. He means only the $6.7 billion loan amount.

As Forbes puts it further down in this article, this is "using government money to pay back government money to get more government money".

America, you are being hoodwinked. GM thinks you are a crash test dummy. Don't believe the hype....

Sand in The Gears

Instapundit offered commentary on people's opinion of the big government bailout for GM (or just bailouts in general):

"Lots of people have decided to be sand in the gears."

But I would remind everyone, there is no need to be the sands in gears that won't even mesh with each other.....

Stimulus Subterfuge

Its all a Stimulus Subterfuge, a Recovery Ruse, a GDP Gimmick.

In other words, the 'Great Obama Recovery'® that was announced earlier in October by the White House is all hogwash, a hoax, a fraud...a lie.

Sure, the economy was announced to have grown by 3.5%. However, that has now been revised down (GDP numbers are often adjusted) to 2.8%. 'What's so bad about that?' you might ask. 'Isn't any positive growth a good thing?' Normally, but as the blogprof points out, the only thing making this a positive number, is Stimulus cash....

That "robust" 3.5% GDP growth rate in Q3 that the AP heralded as the end of the recession sans actual jobs? That just got reduced. A lot. As in down to 2.8% now. Even that is deceiving as consumer spending, which comprises 70% of the economy, declined 0.5% during the same period (Positive GDP Fraud! Consumer Spending DOWN 0.5%. GDP Up Because Of MASSIVE DEBT!). So how is it that the GDP increased in the 3rd quarter after consumer spending decreased? Well, that's got everything to do with the 'G' in the GDP - gross. That includes consumer spending, government spending, in fact all spending. So if the consumer spending is down, one way to artificially inflate the GDP number is to increase government spending with money that the government doesn't, by the way, have. In essence, the GDP number is positive due to increased debt! It's purchased on a government card that has no credit limit.

So Stimulus cash, which is created out of thin air and injected into the economy to unknown effect, makes up 118% of the GDP growth....

So what this really means is that we will be seeing increasing GDP growth for many quarters to come, and thus a White House trumpeting a full-throated recovery, just in time for the 2010 elections.

Since only 22% of the Stimulus had been spent by the end of October, that means we have over $600 Billion left to be entered into that 'Government Spending' column that blogprof tells us about. Thus, unless consumer spending craters, this glut of Govt Spending spread over many quarters will prop up the GDP numbers for those quarters. And as it will most surely do, the White House will point to the string of positive quarters, and how their actions have saved the economy, despite the fact that it is really a Potemkin Village of economic figures...

The only problem will be the ever expanding unemployment roles....and the largest spike in employment will be found in GOP political campaigns.

[Hat Tip: Instapundit]

Countering the Rise of an Epithet

In the newest edition of National Review [subscription required], Jay Nordlinger has a good interim retrospective on the 'teabagger' imbroglio in 'Rise of an Epithet'...

"To “teabag” or not to “teabag”: That is not the most pressing question of these times, but it is a question to consider. Routinely, conservative protesters in the “tea party” movement are called “teabaggers,” and those calling them that do not mean it in a nice way. Many conservatives are mulling what to do about this term: fight it, embrace it, what?"

I say fight it....and of course you may want to fight fire with fire. Because I am in the mood, I will ignore a normal tendency not to sink to the Lefties' level. If they want the discourse to utilize crass barnyard imagery to subtly insult one's opponent, so be it.

If those in this country who oppose larger government control, gangster government, higher taxes, and the general slide towards European socialism can be labeled as "Teabaggers", then the Democrats and lefties who are running the country can suffer a similar epithet.

From now on, in any public reference, the Democratic Party and its actions in running the Executive and Legislative branches of government should be referred to as...."The Donkey Show".

Washington, Tijuana....it doesn't matter. We are all getting screwed.....

The "Tough Choices" Tapdance

#tcot #hhrs
YAY! It's 'tough choices' time!

"The Obama administration has insisted that the pledge will stand. But the president's top economic advisers have refused to rule out broad-based tax increases to close the yawning gap between federal revenue and government spending and are warning of tough choices ahead."

But wait, I thought we already made 'tough choices' earlier this year. I mean that's what President Obama told us when speaking of his budget at one of his prime time interruptions press conferences back in March:

"And in this budget, we have made the tough choices necessary to cut our deficit in half by the end of my first term – even under the most pessimistic estimates."

Let's see, 6 months ago when things were really bad, the 'tough choices' were made by President Obama and things would get better because of them. But now, back in the present, when the economy is looking better than those "most pessimistic estimates", we are being warned that their are 'tough choices' ahead? How is this possible in the land of hope and change?

So, was the President blowing smoke up our rear-ends back then to appear the savior, or are his advisers playing us for rubes now, hoping that we will forget their boss' earlier braggadocio??

I vote for both.

But in the end this 'tough choices' wordplay is only so much overacting in the political theater of Washington DC. While this venerable line may have worked in the past, in this summer of discontent, it is more likely to draw a fusillade of rotten tomatoes.

Most people aren't buying the BS anymore. They saw the all-you-can-eat pork barrel pig-out during the first 6 months of this administration, so they know that 'tough choices' means that they are going to be asked to pay for someone else's indiscretions, and they don't like it...

Chrysler Closing Conspiracy?

I admit, that when I first read the reports that the Chrysler dealership closings disproportionately targeted GOP donors, I did think "Well, of course...I'll bet most car dealers are Republicans anyhow..."

I might have left it at that and remained skeptical of any mass conspiracy, except for some more specific details about how some big-wigs in Democratic circles essentially had all their competition wiped off the map in several markets....

The Mysterious Case of RLJ

In Smith's research, one company kept popping up on the list of dealerships remaining open. The company is RLJ-McLarty-Landers, which owns six Chrysler dealerships. All six dealerships are on "the safe list."

RLJ's owners "are Steve Landers (long-time car dealer, 4th-generation dealer), Thomas "Mack" McLarty (former Chief of Staff for President Clinton), and Robert Johnson (founder of Black Entertainment Television and co-owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats)... McLarty campaigned for Obama in 2008, and Johnson has given countless amounts of money to Democrats over the years."

[...]

All other factors being equal, what are the odds that RLJ's dealerships would remain open while all other area dealerships would be shuttered?

In fact it seems that RLJ delearships in 5 markets will have *all* of their local competition shuttered. And we are not talking about just one competitor here. In each market RLJ will see 2, 3, and even 4 other dealerships closed, leaving them the only place to buy (or service) Chrysler-related brands. This is nicely illustrated by Doug Ross at the link above.

One has to wonder, as people dig through and analyze the lists of "safe" and "closing" dealerships, how many more of these instances will be found.....

Speakeasys of Capitalism

I think I need to start up business plans for a network of speakeasys where people can talk about and practice capitalism....

"This is America. We have a free enterprise system that has worked spectacularly for us for two hundred plus years. When it fails it fixes itself. Most importantly, it is not an owned lackey of the oval office to be scolded for disobedience by the President."

Read the whole thing here.

Two Hundred & Thirty Three years....well, it was a good run....

Hat Tip to Peter Robinson and Instapundit.

Could Obama Help Turn Indiana Red Again?

"Remember how President Obama blamed Chrysler's bankruptcy filing last month on "a small group of speculators" who turned down Treasury's $2 billion final offer for their $6.9 billion in debt?"

It appears that the list of evil 'speculators' included the likes of retired Indiana State Policemen, retired Indiana Teachers, and Indiana motorists.

Vultures!

Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock revealed this week that his state's police and teacher pension funds have lost millions of dollars in the Chrysler "restructuring." Indiana's State Police Fund and Major Moves Construction Fund, which finances roads and bridges, together lost more than $1 million. And the Teacher's Retirement Fund "suffered, at a minimum, a loss of $4.6 million due to the action of the Federal government," reports Mr. Mourdock.

Attention RNC, NRSC, & NRCC....if you don't go into Indiana with adds that directly link Obama and his 'Gangster Government' tactics to the losses at state pension funds....you would be complete idiots. And don't wait until 2010...start TV ads now.

Indiana used to be a Red State, and only voted for Obama by a little more than 28K votes out of 2.7 mil votes cast. Use his actions that have directly hurt the 'speculators' in Indiana's retired population and turn Indiana RED again....

And you think that Indiana will be the only state where pension funds have been roughed up by the hoods from Pennsylvania Ave, you have been asleep. I am quite sure this could be an effective tactic to elect Senator Giuliani....

Geithner the Loanshark

Reason asks a great question today....

"Is the Government Acting Like a Payday Lender?"

Earlier this week when thinking about the refusal of the Federal Govt to take back TARP moeny offered up by banks who wanted out of the deal, I was reminded of one of the major underlying stories in the movie "Barbershop".

In that subplot, Calvin the barber (played by Ice Cube) decides to sell out his barbershop to the sleazy loan shark (played by Keith Daivid) Mr. Wallace. Wallace quickly decides to turn the shop into a strip club. This causes Calvin to try to return the money, but Wallace refuses to take it back.



After Calvin drops the money on Mr. Wallace's desk and tries to run for it, he is chased through the streets by Wallace's thug, who repeatedly screams "Take this money!" and Calvin screams back "I don't want it!" After said thug catches Calvin, he shoves the envelope of money into Calvin's chest and growls "This money is *yours*...you hear me?!"

I can envision Tim Geithner chasing some regretful corporate CEO across the Washington Mall screaming "Take this money!"

While Reason is asking the right question, they are a bit off on their comparison. A payday loan operation, while somewhat sleazy, is usually at least regulated in its actions.

What the Obama/Geithner operation is operating like is a street level loanshark.

I wonder when we will see the thugs unleashed.....

(Hat tip: Instapundit)