Taxpayers Still on the Hook for Bailouts; GM Bailout Hurt ‘Tens of Thousands’ of Americans

Too Soon to Thank Uncle Sam: Taxpayers Still on the Hook for Bailouts

November 17, 2010

FOX Business - General Motors is racing back to Wall Street, but few people-- including myself-- expect tomorrow's IPOs to signal a finish line for our involvement in this company.

With all of the attention focused on GM, it's easy to forget just how much taxpayers are still on the hook for all the other bailouts.

The GM IPO is being priced at $33; the good news is that's much higher than the original estimate of $26, the bad news is it's only expected to raise $12 to $16 billion.

However, a little over a year ago we invested nearly $50 billion into the auto giant, and so far they've only paid $7 billion of it back! That's a big loss on the books!

GM isn't the only company still in debt to the American taxpayers.

The New York Times points out Washington is still owed $180 billion from the $384 billion we doled out from TARP.

GMAC --now known as Ally Financial-- was the recipient of about $17 billion last year, meaning we own more than half of the company. And as the foreclosure fiasco drags on, that percentage could certainly grow!

The U.S. government still has a 10% stake in GM’s partner in crime - Chrysler! While Uncle Sam has actually made a profit on the money it gave to some of the biggest banks on Wall Street, like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, nearly 600 smaller banks still owe $38 billion [see 34 Banks Fail to Pay TARP Dividends and The Big Bank Bailout Payback Bamboozle].

The two biggest sources: AIG, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AIG, which used to be the world's largest insurer, still owes about $130 billion; and since the bailout, our stake in the company has actually risen to more than 92%!

And of course: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, these money pits have been supported with $150 billion--and they keep asking for more each quarter!!

So, even with all this evidence we still have people like Warren Buffett writing thank you notes to Uncle Sam for bailing us out. Yes Uncle Sam, thanks for taking taxpayer's hard earned money and basically throwing it out the window - with very little concern of ever getting it back!

Boehner: GM Bailout Hurt ‘Tens of Thousands’ of Americans

November 19, 2010

CNSNews.com - On the same day that President Obama made comments suggesting that the federal government’s 2009 bailout of General Motors was on the path to being a success, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that the bailout had been an example of government overreach and had hurt many Americans.

“The government’s reaction to General Motors and the bailout from the government I think could have been handled in a more orderly way from a bankruptcy judge, without the heavy hand of the federal government in the midst of it,” Boehner said in a Thursday press conference at the Capitol.

“When you look at the people who lost because of the government’s actions, we’re talking about tens of thousands of Americans who were punished as a result of the government’s action,” he added.

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel told CNSNews.com that the Republican leader was referring to “both the bondholders and the employees at the dealerships that were arbitrarily closed by the White House.”

GM reported raising more than $20 billion Thursday, when, for the first time in nearly two years, its stock was offered to the public. President Obama claimed the taxpayer takeover was a success.

“Today, one of the toughest tales of the recession took another big step toward becoming a success story,” Obama said Thursday. “We are finally beginning to see some of these tough decisions that we made in the midst of the crisis pay off. Our automakers are in the midst of their strongest period of job growth in more than a decade.”

However, even if all available shares were sold, the government would still have a nearly 33 percent stake in the company.

Boehner will become the new speaker of the House in January when the 112th Congress convenes in January.