General Motor’s bosses received billions of dollars in bailout money after a sham inquisition in Washington led by Henry Waxman, one of the politicians who made it easier for the Savings and Loan crooks to loot that industry. The inquisition was intended to show to the public that democracy works and the auto bosses were publicly chided, Ford CEO Mullaly even said he would only take $1 salary for the year, quite a difference from the $128 million the year before.
So they had to first eat a bit of humble pie and move on to prove that they were willing to take advantage of the crisis and show that they could provide a profitable business for investors to invest in. They swore they would and after the Washington charade, wiped out billions of dollars in debt, closed numerous plants and laid of thousands of workers.
Now it seems they get another little break made possible by their political representatives in DC; they won’t have to pay $45.4 billion in taxes on future profits. This is a great tax benefit and is the result of what the Wall Street Journal refers to as a “little-noticed ruling last year” that exempts companies that received TARP money (bailouts) from a law that places severe restrictions on businesses that have a significant change of ownership. This “little noticed” ruling allows companies to use certain losses and other expenses “to shield profits from US taxes for up to 20 years”. In the case of GM it’s $45 billion.
The IRS has decided that the taxpayer’s 61% stake in GM constituted a significant change of ownership and is thus is exempt from the restrictions. All the companies that received TARP money fall under this “little noticed” ruling. The government says that the reason for this “profit-shielding tax credit” is, get this, it “makes the bailed out companies more attractive to investors.”
So not only did we bail them out, in order to coax capitalists to invest some of the money they steal from working people back in to the auto industry, they get a $45 billion protection for their profits.
And let’s face it, you almost have to laugh at the way they express themselves in their papers. They call this ruling “little noticed”. Well when they want us to notice something we get it shoved in our faced 24/7 don’t we? They bring to my attention night after night that I might need this or that drug for the various syndromes I have. Restless leg, excessive shyness, premature baldness syndrome and now I might have LT, low testosterone syndrome.A retired doctor friend of mine told me that she was called by a patient who was told to do so by the TV ad about a disease she hadn't yet heard of. It was created in Madison Avenue.
This election period I have been inundated with literature from the two political parties and Unions that supports one of them. I even got a call from Leonardo Di Caprio for Christ’s sake.
No, the ruling was not “little noticed” it was “little publicized”, it was done in secret among a select few, and for a reason, they don’t want us to think about politics in a serious way, rather the mindless crap that we receive through the mail or hear on TV. They are also aware of the anger and hatred of the rich and the bankers that exists in US society.
The transportation industry and all these industries, especially those we bailed out, should be taken over completely and run under worker’s control and management. Let’s not forget these monetary figures when our co-workers and friends repeat what they hear on TV and tell us we have to tighten our belts because there’s no money.
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