Elites In Conflict - The GM Bailout Story

Extortion, political figures, elite hedge fund billionaires battling the banking controlled government - not sure where to put this, so here will do.

This is a research compilation by Greg Palast, an investigative journalist, author, and equal opportunist (this latest research exposes Romney's character but he has shone light on Obama's bad dealings in the past too). It would seem that the whole story behind the GM bailout wasn't told. A group of identified billionaires, directed by Paul Singer, engaged in extortion by purchasing the controlling majority stock in Delphi (a once manufacturing company that exclusively produced essential steering parts for automotive industries like GM and Chrysler) and made well proven threats to the automakers and Obama administration if their demands weren't met.

Obama hired Steven Rattner, himself a millionaire hedge fund manager, to head the task force that would negotiate with the troubled firms and their creditors to avoid the collapse of the entire industry. In Rattner’s memoir of the affair, Overhaul, he describes a closed-door meeting held in March 2009 to resolve Delphi’s fate. He writes that Delphi, now in the possession of its hedge fund creditors, told the Treasury and GM to hand over $350 million immediately, “because if you don’t, we’ll shut you down.” His explanation was corroborated by Delphi’s chief financial officer, John Sheehan, who said in a sworn deposition in July 2009 that the hedge fund debt holders backed up their threat with “an analysis of the cost to GM if Delphi were unwilling or unable to provide supply to GM,” forcing a “shutdown.” It would take “years and tens of billions” for GM to replace Delphi’s parts. At that bleak moment, GM had neither. The automaker had left the inventory of its steering column and other key components in Delphi’s hands.

Don't worry tho, they actually made billions in profits by the end of it all - paid for by the US taxpayers.

There's just so much info mentioned and it's quite a lengthy compilation done by an incredible detective.
For Romney bashers you can bet there's plenty of ammunition stockpiles to be found here. It seems Bain isn't his only shady dealing.

Mitt Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout has haunted him on the campaign trail, especially in Rust Belt states like Ohio. There, in September, the Obama campaign launched television ads blasting Romney’s November 2008 New York Times op-ed, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” But Romney has done a good job of concealing, until now, the fact that he and his wife, Ann, personally gained at least $15.3 million from the bailout—and a few of Romney’s most important Wall Street donors made more than $4 billion. Their gains, and the Romneys’, were astronomical—more than 3,000 percent on their investment.

Later there's mention that the total amount the Romneys' invested was concealed, and that the above is a low estimate. If they even invested just 3% of their net worth into the "toxic" stocks ($7.5 million) then the Romney's would have profited $115 million.... And nearly all the billionaires involved in this extortion are now supporting Romney's campaign with donations - one of whom was an Obama supporter in 08.

It seems the elites are not entirely aligned (had that hunch tho back when BBC reported the $30 trillion being hidden in tax havens). Some are backing Romney for their own interests, and others Obama.
Enjoy.
Source

If Detroit were allowed to go bankrupt somebody could have bought Pontiac for $1 and created a company...created jobs.

Somebody could have bought Hummer for $1, and created jobs making something.

GMC....SAAB.......what else could somebody bought for $1 and created companies to create jobs??

The Govt Bailout actually resulted in lost jobs.....not creating any.

I miss Pontiac.

Remember all those Chrysler Dealers who were closed? They were going to start importing Mahindra trucks and SUVs until Obama stopped them.

Great article! All I can say is the greed of these hedge funds knows no bounds. How they can strong-arm the government in to not only financing their takeovers but then to destroy jobs at home, cut healthcare to workers, slash pensions by 40% all the while taking Billions from the government and lining their own pockets extravagantly along the way.
This is economic war on workers, plain and simple. These bastards would steal the very earth beneath your feet if they could then demand the government pay them for their "services". If a yacht hosting one of those billionaire's parties were to sink I wouldn't toss a lifesaver to a single one of them (hired hands, yes - billionaires, no).
For those of you who think these uber-rich bastards "worked" their way to fortune read this article. They can only get that rich by stealing from everyone else, including you as a taxpayer.
Disgusting beyond words.

A small sample of the human toll:

Bruce Naylor of Kokomo, Indiana, had been forced into retirement at the age of 54 in 2006, when Delphi began to move its plants overseas. Naylor’s promised pension was slashed 40 percent, and his health insurance and life insurance were canceled. Though he had thirty-six years of experience under his belt as an engineer with GM and Delphi, he couldn’t find another job as an engineer—and he doesn’t know a single former co-worker who has found new employment in his or her field, either.

Which leads to:

Even with his wife Judy’s income as a nurse, it hasn’t been enough: the Naylors just declared bankruptcy, and their home is in foreclosure.

Cutting jobs and benefits is destroying families and communities, indeed the very fabric of our society.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Definitely. None of those men ever made an honest living. Maybe at some point they did early in life, but now they're Satan's spawn. I met people like that...my brother is one of them. That's a whole other story.

This stunt of theirs laid off over 25,000 workers and shipped most of Delphi's factories over to China. 100,000 workers, only 5,000 in the US now. Hmm, that seems to be Romney's MO - pay tribute to China.

PS is this the right forum for this story, or do people really have nothing to say about this?

So Romney and Obama won't take the same path. The hedge fund billionaires have opposed the US government and international banks. This is the group that backs Romney. Other elites are backing Obama, specifically big pharma it seems, given recent events. Both sides want control but have to be careful about not breaking the illusion that they're ALL well meaning guys. Either way, yes, it's not really Democracy and it's a route to Hell. Just which Hell do you prefer? And there's always the wise saying....go with the Devil you know, or the Devil you don't know?