Mitt Romney accuses President Obama of holding on to GM to avoid embarrassing loss before election

[Eugene]

Source: Boston Globe

Mitt Romney accuses President Obama of holding on to GM to avoid embarrassing loss before election

06/05/2012 2:54 PM

By Callum Borchers, Globe Correspondent

Mitt Romney is not ready to concede the success of US automaker bailouts, accusing President Obama of retaining the government’s General Motors holding to avoid the embarrassment of a huge financial loss before the election.

The Obama campaign is fond of touting the government-aided recovery of the American auto industry and reminding voters that Romney opposed the bailouts that are widely credited with saving GM and Chrysler.

Romney wrote in a 2008 op-ed in The New York Times that if Detroit car companies receive bailouts, “you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.”

Four years later, there is no demise in sight. But Romney argued in an interview published in Tuesday’s Detroit News that government assistance to GM has not been the victory Obama claims — for taxpayers, at least. If the government had sold its 26.5 percent stake in GM Monday, when the company’s stock closed at $21.11 per share, it would have suffered a $16 billion loss.

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Read more: http://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2012/06/05/mitt-romney-accuses-president-obama-holding-avoid-embarrassing-loss-before-election/wueXaAT5DFc7A7k1f7NXGO/story.html

[Scootaloo]

1. Mitt Romney knows business...

Like a crash test dummy knows cars.

[Enrique]

2. so he's back to "let Detroit go bankrupt"?

he no longer "takes a lot of credit" for the auto recovery? Mitt is hard to keep up with!

[Bozita]

4. It's those damned trees!

[SoutherDem]

5. That was going to be my post

but you beat me to it.

[LiberalFighter]

3. He wants GM stock to be sold so the American people would lose $16 billion?

It looks like Romney doesn't understand buying and selling stock.

[SoutherDem]

6. But, Romney doesn't care as long as it makes a good sound bite.

His business was a few rich investors who put tons of money in a company, much borrowed, took the profits, shifted ownership, then dump them like a hot potato.

No he has no clue about the stock market.

[denverbill]

11. Yeah, wtf, hold the stock, collect the dividends, wait for the price to go up.

If GM succeeds long-term, the US makes money. If it goes bust, we lose $16 billion. That's 8 weeks of war spending. Whoop-de-do.

[former9thward]

15. There are no dividends on GM stock.

If GM goes bust we would lose about 60 billion not 16. The price has drifted down since the "new" GM came out of bankruptcy.

[babylonsister]

7. Do I hear the sound of desperation? I believe I do! nt

[rufus dog]

8. Actually this is a perfect insight into his mindset

Like most major Corporations he thinks about things in only short term gains with no thought into the long term impact. It has been evident in all of his activities.

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. Exactly ...

That's what makes him unqualified for the position of POTUS, which requires long-term, and often, non-economic calculations with respect to the appropriate course of action.

[ashling]

9. But he'll take a lot of credit for it

He's not sure he really said that, but he'll stand behind it. Maybe he should stand behind one of his wife's Cadillacs. Better than being on the roof.

[Arkana]

12. Thought the bailout was your idea all along, Mitt!

Does that mean your idea which you totally thought of was a failure?

[Thrill]

13. So he admits the government

getting involved is what has saved GM?

[ShadowLiberal]

14. So Romney takes credit for saving GM & blames Obama for losing money in GM by doing what Romney said