GM or Bust

Nice to see that all of those billions of taxpayers' dollars spent to keep General Motors out of bankruptcy have finally paid off. The federal government is going to be the majority stockholder, and between the government and the unions, there's only going to be about 20% of the company left to go around. People--like my almost-90-year-old grandfather--who were holding GM stock are going to get the shaft worst of all, probably losing 100% of their investments. (Don't feel too bad for my grandfather, though--he's a pretty sharp investor who was just gambling a couple bones on a recovery for fun.)

But...just ask the former Soviet Union how well governments do when it comes to running automakers. Or just look how wonderfully efficient our own government institutions are. They wouldn't stand a chance in a competitive environment. Maybe a post-bankruptcy, streamlined GM will be able to compete. But I wouldn't bet my retirement on it.