Welcome to the new GM, AKA Government Motors
Rick Wagoner wasn't the last one to lose his job through the administration, and in today's WaPo we see just how far the administration is taking the sacking of the once great auto maker:
The Obama administration will play a key role in reshaping General Motors' board of directors over the next six months, potentially giving it even greater control in the management of the storied American manufacturer.
The president's auto task force plans to consult with the company as it replaces a majority of its board, a White House official said. The board today largely consists of the current and former chiefs of major U.S. corporations such as Coca-Cola, Ernst & Young, Pfizer and Eastman Kodak. It is not known which of the 12 board members will leave.
The president said Monday that "the United States government has no interest in running GM." But in practice it is already exerting tremendous influence over it, a situation that has triggered fierce debate over how much power the government should wield over the companies that it aids.
Kent Kresa, 71, GM's new chairman, said yesterday that company officials will seek to replace a majority on the board by August, as the automaker moves to restructure operations.
"There will be continuing coordination as decisions about the leadership of the company are made," a White House official said yesterday. "Folks from the autos task force will be involved in those decisions."
Kresa, a former Northrop Grumman chief executive who has been a GM director since 2003, was selected to be chairman by the Obama administration after it ousted chairman and chief executive G. Richard Wagoner Jr. on Sunday. Fritz Henderson was named chief executive.
Some critics characterize the White House's removal of Wagoner as a move toward European socialism. In addition to forcing leadership changes at GM, President Obama on Monday said that Chrysler must strike a partnership with Italian automaker Fiat, and that GM must further cut its already shrunken workforce and product lines.
Someone care to show me where it is in Article II of the US Constitution where the president has this power or authority? I double checked this morning, just to be sure, in my own little handy guide, and online. I can't seem to find where the president has this authority. I don't give a rip ow much money the government has given GM, it lacks the authority to do this. Oh, and that money never should have been given to them in the first place. Chapter 11 bankruptcy would've been just fine for all concerned parties.
To be fair, GM's board hasn't exactly done a bang-up job running the company, but that doesn't give the federal government the excuse to step in, especially after the president told the nation that they had no intention of running the company. It appears that was a lie, or at the very least, a misnomer. But this smacks of socialism sans a dictator.
When the government steps in and begins controlling the means of production, it is no longer thinking or acting as though the free market is it's guiding principle.
Publius II
The Obama administration will play a key role in reshaping General Motors' board of directors over the next six months, potentially giving it even greater control in the management of the storied American manufacturer.
The president's auto task force plans to consult with the company as it replaces a majority of its board, a White House official said. The board today largely consists of the current and former chiefs of major U.S. corporations such as Coca-Cola, Ernst & Young, Pfizer and Eastman Kodak. It is not known which of the 12 board members will leave.
The president said Monday that "the United States government has no interest in running GM." But in practice it is already exerting tremendous influence over it, a situation that has triggered fierce debate over how much power the government should wield over the companies that it aids.
Kent Kresa, 71, GM's new chairman, said yesterday that company officials will seek to replace a majority on the board by August, as the automaker moves to restructure operations.
"There will be continuing coordination as decisions about the leadership of the company are made," a White House official said yesterday. "Folks from the autos task force will be involved in those decisions."
Kresa, a former Northrop Grumman chief executive who has been a GM director since 2003, was selected to be chairman by the Obama administration after it ousted chairman and chief executive G. Richard Wagoner Jr. on Sunday. Fritz Henderson was named chief executive.
Some critics characterize the White House's removal of Wagoner as a move toward European socialism. In addition to forcing leadership changes at GM, President Obama on Monday said that Chrysler must strike a partnership with Italian automaker Fiat, and that GM must further cut its already shrunken workforce and product lines.
Someone care to show me where it is in Article II of the US Constitution where the president has this power or authority? I double checked this morning, just to be sure, in my own little handy guide, and online. I can't seem to find where the president has this authority. I don't give a rip ow much money the government has given GM, it lacks the authority to do this. Oh, and that money never should have been given to them in the first place. Chapter 11 bankruptcy would've been just fine for all concerned parties.
To be fair, GM's board hasn't exactly done a bang-up job running the company, but that doesn't give the federal government the excuse to step in, especially after the president told the nation that they had no intention of running the company. It appears that was a lie, or at the very least, a misnomer. But this smacks of socialism sans a dictator.
When the government steps in and begins controlling the means of production, it is no longer thinking or acting as though the free market is it's guiding principle.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 7:39 AM
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