I finally returned to the office yesterday, in part because I needed to show that I was actually working while laid up, and in part because Mrs. 2outof4 was tired of me doing nothing to help around the house!
But that's not what makes me sick. I am sickened by what I heard our President say on television today about Chrysler's bankruptcy. If you read the Washington Post synopsis and the letter from the "Non-Tarp" lenders, which I will provide below, and do not consider it ludicrous, I do not know what to say.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043001639.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2009043001828
Essentially, the President blames the "holdouts" for not accepting 33 cents on the dollar , the same as the minority (TARP receiving) debt holders, as the reason for Chrysler's bankruptcy. Really!?! Are you sure Mr. President that Chrysler's bankruptcy is not to do with the fact that no one wanted to buy its vehicles and its cost structure was impossible to overcome due to the unions?
The hedge funds that hold the $1 billion out of $6.9 billion outstanding of Chrysler's debt have constituents that make up many people, but include average Joe's through Pension Fund investments, etc. The funds have a fiduciary duty to get as much money for their investors as possible. If that means not taking 33 cents and holding out for 60 cents, or whatever, from the bankruptcy because they are first in line, then they darn well better do it! It is unconscionable that our President would step in and try to frame these funds as trying to do anything but the best for their clients.
And the sob sorry about Chrysler being a national icon and one of our leading manufacturers is laughable for anyone under 50. The clowns at Chrysler have been uninventive, poor fiscal managers and professional lobbyists for the last umpteen years. What they should have been focused on is inventing, cutting costs, and making money - something that the bad guy hedge funds are attempting to do for their clients.
Reading the letter below reeks of Big Government run amok and a select few (TARP receiving) banks being favored over others. It is honestly like reading a John Grisham book:
http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/documents/chrysler/April30Statement.pdf?sid=ST2009043001828
What if I started 2outof4's Cola and all of a sudden people the world over decided that Coke and Pepsi were no good compared to 2outof4. Furthermore, people just stopped drinking Coke and Pepsi. The two companies were being pushed to bankruptcy by 2outof4 Cola just being so tasty and taking all of the others' sales. Would you right now, without the spin of the administration or media, say that the US taxpayer should come to the aid of Coke and Pepsi - by forgiving their debt or giving them more money? I hope the answer is No! That is called Collectivism, Communism, Socialism or whatever other hell you may choose to describe it.
Big Government went too far on this one. Chrysler is a bunch of incompetents run by greedy unions, and now YOU! Before the President criticizes any hedge funds, how about he criticizes the Unions? I do not have to read the post-mortem on that one to draw my own conclusion...
-2outof4
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Nice rant, I hate the damn Unions and half my relatives work for the damn things. No one ever points the finger at the Unions when they are in fact one of, if not the biggest reason for any companies downfall. It's always the greedy CEO's, the hedge funds, or the financial industry as a whole. You never hear them talk about the government interference (which always causes problems) and Union inefficiencies. The Unions (obviously generally speaking) are unproductive, have no incentive to go the extra mile, are forcibly overpaid for what their true value is, and oftentimes have leaders that are extremely corrupt. It drives me nuts. Teachers' Unions are the worst too. Training generation after generation just enough to be good little government workers. Most people are so uneducated that they don't understand the basic concepts of governance and economics. If you look back at the history of government schools, it was their stated mission to do just that, I'd say they are great success in that scope. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteI loved Obama condemning the "speculators" who bought chrysler debt. How un-American. And today Obama declared holy war on American business with this insane idea to tax earnings made in foreign companies. This is the quickest way to make American companies uncompetitive and halt their international growth as they'll be a serious disadvantage to foreign competitors. Or they'll relocate offshore to avoid this double taxation. For all the talk about smart guys in the administration(Summers, Geitner, and Volcker), this is madness. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to think through the logical chain of events. It might work as a populist battle cry, but this policy would be a devastating blow to American companies and the economy.
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