Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

U.S. Auto Bailout Will Cost Billions More Than Previously Thought: Treasury

WASHINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department has said the auto industry bailout will cost taxpayers $3.4 billion more than previously thought.

Treasury now estimates the 2009 bailout will eventually cost the government $25.1 billion, according to a report sent to Congress on Friday.

That is up from the last quarterly estimate of $21.7 billion.

Since the $80 billion bailout of the auto industry, Detroit's big automakers have moved from crisis to profit. GM and Chrysler were put through government-funded bankruptcies that slashed costs and debt.

Treasury has so far recouped about half of what was extended in grants and loans to GM and Chrysler, related retail financing arms and suppliers. Some of the money was repaid in cash, while the remaining interest was tied up in equity shares held by the government.

Republicans have long complained that the bailout was at least partly aimed at salvaging union jobs in Michigan and Ohio, which were hit hard by the 2007-09 recession.

President Barack Obama has campaigned heavily in those states on a signature economic policy achievement - the revival of U.S. auto manufacturing due to his intervention following its near-collapse soon after he took office.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Reuters

No comments:

Post a Comment