Looks like the well is dry for GM and Chrysler:
The White House says neither GM nor Chrysler submitted acceptable plans to receive more bailout money, setting the stage for a crisis in Detroit and putting in motion what could be the final two months of two American auto giants.
The Obama administration, however, has decided not to require the automakers to immediately repay government loan money they previously received, since that would force both companies into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
I really want to hear some explanations on these decisions. We could be looking at the end of a major American era, one that is responsible for America’s position as a global leader today. It’s also not going to help the job numbers in the foreseeable future.
Still, I can’t stop and wonder how much of the auto problems are still the side effect of the much larger illness of frozen credit markets. If that’s the case, then why have we dumped so much more money into the banks and seen no cure yet?
It also makes me wonder about the decision for the administration to force Rick Wagner out as CEO of GM. There appears to be a major double standard here. We force out the CEO of GM, yet our tax dollars go to bonuses of bank execs that helped put GM, Chrysler and the whole nation in this mess. I got a feeling a bunch of Democrats on the hill will be asking the same questions today.