American Car Company Goes From GM to BM

In the what is the latest proof that providing government bailouts to titanic-sized corporations that have hit a monetary iceberg doesn't work, General Motors has recently filed for bankruptcy protection and now the government (and we the people) own a majority share in it. What a shocker!

The once grand General Motors has been reduced to a worthless pile of BM...I don't mean shit, although my stomach is in knots over this. I mean Barack-Motors. That's right, GM is just the latest in a long list of government procurements which many say are aimed at ensuring more and more people are forced to suckle the government teet, all-the-while trying to give the appearance that they are "saving or creating jobs".

What does that even mean? Saving or creating? That is just a fluff statement with no actual facts behind it. Created jobs how? That statement is nonsensical and obtuse. Shit, I saved about 700 jobs this morning by not getting into a fatal car accident on my way to work.

But, I think its a good thing that the our government spent 20 billion of tax payer dollars to keep this shitty company afloat for a while. When you weigh the pros and cons, it was obviously the right choice and they should definitely provide a bailout for all failing companies, right?

Pros:
-Prolong a failing company's life by ~1 month by giving them $20 billion dollars of unchecked, unmonitored money to use for what they could only vaguely describe as "operating expenses" (which could only mean payoffs and light bills).

-Ummm....oddly, I can't think of any more other than the blatantly obvious sarcastic one above.

Cons:
-Adding billions of dollars to a National debt which has each and every American family on the hook for ~ $546,668 per household.

-Ensuring that future Americans are born in a stranglehold of debt for decades to come.

- Not actually regulating the ways in which the appropriated funds could be spent by these companies.

-Not actually saving these companies or the jobs within them.

I know there are many people out there who are going to immediately, and somewhat-wrongfully, take this blog as a stab at B.O. Barackus and, immediately thereafter, start screaming out something about the policies of the past, or ...of the last eight years, which has become the default response to any questions raised in an attempt to shift focus. Look, I DO recognize those past policies for what they were; terribly horrible spending habits. Bush was extremely wasteful with our money. The wasteful spending by our government at the expense of the citizens is nothing new. And that, most of us can agree on.

But then why would it be okay for this president to continue down this path of reckless spending without the same scrutiny? Where is the honesty and logic in that? There is a lot of blame for our debt to be spread around and that should be addressed, but we first need to reign in the government's spending and allow the economy to stabilize naturally. That has to start with our current administration. Then, we can debate blame.

In order to be intellectually honest, one group can't vilify another for blindly following a man down one path, and then, directly afterward, blindly follow another man down a similarly irresponsible path.

Everyone with basic brain functions can comprehend the notion that you can't get out of debt through needless/reckless spending; and we will never recover from the strain of this debt with a J. Wellington Wimpy approach of we'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a bailout today. We will surely drown if this spending continues to go unchecked.

So, here we are, Stakeholders in a major car company. I expect that our company cars, blackberries, and petty cash will be in the mail shortly.