What Role for a Government Owner?

Maybe the government should submit a resume detailing what they've run well in the past 50 years or so....all I can think of is the 1st Gulf War.

Who ever decides to run GM, they need to start by doing some serious polling, to see what kind of cars the American people want, instead of making cars to cater to the oil companies.

Personally I believe it is WAY past time to tool up, and start making hydrogen fuel cell cars, so we can tell the Arabs and the American oil companies exactly where they can put, or is stick the proper word, their 4 dollar a gallon gas.

I will comment by not making a comment. I feel such the lowly peon today cause President Obama is just way too Uptown for me now brotha. I can't even afford the time of day now, I am sooo poor...

If the government is "us" shouldn't "we" have a say in what kind of automobile we want to build in a highly competitive global marketplace. After all, these vehicles will represent US ability in every country that buys them. Shouldn't we want our vehicles to be the best? I personally have never owned a US made automobile. I would like to be able to change my attitude toward them.

Fundamentally, the leadership at GM has failed. This company has floundered for most of the last thirty years. However, I serious concerns over the government's ability to manage anything!

What I suggest is that the government set specific goals for the new GM to meet. Goals that exceed federal standards for safety, & gas mileage. Goals that demand quality. In addition, the new board of directors should search for new executive leadership from outside GM, preferably outside of Automotive. Not to copy what Ford did by hiring Alan Mulany from Boeing, but honestly, bringing in a true outsider with a new vision and someone who has actually turned a huge company around before would be a pretty smart thing for the new GM to do.

This is what a government looks like when it has goals and competent leaders.

People complain when the government doesn't do things it should have, i.e. Katrina, and then others complain when a government tries to get ahead of a problem, i.e. managing this bailout for auto makers.

Imagine if the federal gov't had spent $x billions fixing up the levees around the south before Katrina, there would have been stories about wasteful spending in a cheap ploy to buy votes.

It's time we governed ahead of our problems and it's time Americans got used to the concept. If we don't spend on infrastructure, if we don't protect manufacturing, if we don't have a government that does the things that any government is supposed to do then we will continue to govern from behind.

All the "socialism" talk is nonsense and should be confronted. Our tax rates won't get near their mid-1970's levels, the government avoided runs on banks, the economy is showing signs of life already, and the money we've spent has largely been invested, not wasted. Investments in banks, renewable energy, and infrastructure will reap benefits within 10 years, not passed on to future generations.

Let's get past the nonsense and let's get ready for a good old-fashioned American rally!

Yonkers, New York
01 June 2009

When you own a business, whether as a sole proprietor, or as the controlling shareholder in a corporation, you will be crazy to just leave it to the mercy of those whom you appoint to manage it--that is, if you're not running the single proprietorship yourself.

In the case of G.M., now that the Federal government owns 60% of it and is therefore the controlling stockholder, Mr. Obama, on the advice of his brain trust, will appoint a board of directors to give overall direction to G.M.

The board will be composed of competent persons of good moral character and with good track records in directing large enterprises.

The board, in turn, will recommend to the President the appointment of the Executives to manage the company; it goes without saying that these should be persons of good repute and well qualified to run a huge business like General Motors.

The board is not expected to recommend a politician as an executive of G.M.

The overarching objective of both the Board and the Executives will be for General Motors to design, engineer, build and sell motor vehicles which consumers will be eager to buy because they are well- designed, well-engineered, reliable, economical to maintain and competitively priced.

A corollary objective is for G.M. to be restored to health and prosperity to such a degree as to enable the Federal goverment to sell it back to private stockholders as soon as possible.

Mariano Patalinjug

"We" the people have already decided what cars GM should make. "We" do so in the choices of cars we buy. It's called the free market. Or should I say, we "used to" decide. My crystal ball tells me lots of politicians and union leaders are going to be banking on my tax dollars.

The government should place orders for all new hybrid/electric automobiles from GM to replace the entire fleet of vehicles and gives them a huge down payment to cover retooling. The electric vehicle omits no CO2 and could be called the Electrobama. No kidding. The ones that run on hydrogen gas would be called the Electrobiden.
Then the government should sell its stock into the market when the announcement is made and catch a great profit for the people.

As the majority stock holder, the US should have the same influence as say a Kurt Krakorian would have as a majority stock holder. Business is business. Or maybe just sell short.

It's unnerving to me that our government now has control of every aspect of our lives, while we sat back and did nothing to halt the demise of the "good ol' U.S. of A. We, the people, failed to react and watched the eventual destruction of our way of life with the idea that Uncle Sam would take care of everything. Where once Americans took pride in their work and took responsibility for their actions, we kept silent as our plants, factories and thousands of jobs were outsourced overseas to the point where American consumers can no longer find anything we use in our daily lives that are "Made in the U.S.A." China now has control of the majority of all goods and consumables. We, the people, no longer have jobs and have lost the very fundamental and basic values that drove us to make this country great. Closing the doors of our auto manufacturing facilities where we once proudly produced American-made vehicles, opens the door even wider for China to become bigger and better with the prospect that they may one day rule the world, an idea that intimidates the hell out of me. As we protest Mexican illegals from crossing our borders, we failed to watch as China began to take over everything that used to be our own. Is it any wonder that our Treasury Chief has taken Chinese language lessons?

First. It is the Government's policy to NOT COMPETE with the private sector. If the government gives GM a boost, I would expect Ford to sue the Government blind(er).

Second, see who now owns the company. The government and unions. A good company serves the customer first. If the government tries to influence what they think we need, GM will be a failure. If the unions have undue influence, GM will be a failure. If GM continues to sell off valuable, unique brands like Hummer and their previously innovative and profitable European division, GM will struggle. Funny they decided to sell off Hummer just as Raser Technologies unveiled a hybrid electric Hummer with ridiculous gas mileage. In their haste, they lack vision. Why keep both Buick and Caddy? If Buick does so well oversees, keep them a channel and re-badge some entry-level Caddy and high-end Chevy's, or some of their Opel brands? Haste has made terrible decisions. Japan opened the door, Korea threw it open wider, and we'll see Chinese vehicles kick the door open. And even Toyota and Honda won't be able to compete.

Third, to say that they built cars that Americans didn't want is a lie. Americans wanted large to mid size trucks and suvs and they spoke with their wallets, which is a more powerful indicator than a bunch of hand-waving banter. They FAILED when they tried to make a difference. They made huge strides, on a % basis in fuel mileage with hybrid full size trucks and suvs. But it takes time for someone already doing business, with legacy concerns to bring revolutionary changes to their product. It takes even more time for such revolutionary changes to go mainstream in a widely acceptable product. And we're so myopic, for example, that we don't recognize that hybrid creation and disposal is anything but green. They will be, in part, with solar panels, be the types of "green" that keeps Superfund and water filter companies in business for the next century.

GM's problems were the legacy, and was such a beast that momentum is hard to shift. We should have let them go bankrupt six to eight months ago. And given those billions to the welfare office and American startups through proper RfPs while innovative American companies had an open market to innovate. Now, we've kicked the door open for China ourselves. And likely, they will have GM badges. And, if we constrain GM, they will die and some other China product will win the marketplace.

Why does anyone suppose we own Government Motors? Because we put up the bailout cash? We don't even own the paper the cash is printed on, something the Chinese smell before the public. You own nothing but debt. How do you get out of debt? It sure won't be by trying to run GM. Under the Clinton Brain trust they cried "too many banks," so they merged and merged and now we have to bail them out. So what is Government Motors going to use as a business model? Amtrak or the Post Office? Maybe Medicare or Welfare? Please, I give this six months and the parts will be sold off and moved to China.

Well add me to the list of those that will never ever ever buy a GM product...ever! Ford? Maybe, since they are playing their cards right with the govt. Keep up the good job Ford and don't cave in. Eventually people will start going towards Ford because not everybody is a environut and wants to drive a golf cart to work. Some people enjoy their trucks and SUV's that actually hold more than two passengers. Look for Ford to rebound in the short-term future. It sucks that Cadillac has to be taken down this road as well. I have always had a soft spot for their cars. It truly hurts that Americans are losing their jobs, but chalk that one up to the UAW, GM Management, and Obummber administration. How many jobs have we lost since O's been in office, and how many have been created? I think Kid Rock, with his opening of a brewery, has actually created more jobs than the One in office right now!