When the Treasury Department off-loaded its remaining stock in General Motors late last year, the president used the occasion to take a bow stating, “When I took office, the American auto industry – the heartbeat of American manufacturing – was on the verge of collapse. Two of the Big Three – GM and Chrysler – were on the brink of failure … as president, I refused to let that happen.”
“We bet on American ingenuity, we bet on you and we won,” Vice President Joe Biden said during last month’s Detroit auto show.
Of course there was no mention that taxpayers lost $10.5 billion on the GM bailout and, thanks to a deal with the Energy and Treasury Departments, Fiat of Italy was able to acquire majority control of Chrysler. Continue reading