No WEBslinger here Al et al:
“So far as I can discover, paper money systems have always wound up with collapse and economic chaos.” Congressman Howard Buffett.
Genteel WEB yesterday on CNBC apparently agreed, calling this an Economic Pearl Harbor. He reiterated support for government bailouts with mark to market. He claimed in the BRK 2008 Annual Letter the financial world went from underpricing risk to overpricing it. Maybe. We are still in a bear market….
WEB did not trade a Great Deflation like his mentor Benjamin Graham. WEB a 1930s boy who came of age at the beginning of the Great Jubilee Baby Boomer Bull Market. Times and trends change…
Per his 2008 Annual Letter, WEB sold European-style 99% uncollateralized puts on S&P500, Euro Stoxx50, FTSE100, Nikkei 225. They were written to expire/pay from 9 Sep 2019 to 24 Jan 2028. WEB sold higher volatility premiums with little collateral because of BRK’s AAA status (1 of 7 in USA)….
WEB expects to keep premium & invest it with no cost but The Risk. The Risk has already cost him $10 B in 2008 writedowns, whoops. What about the long-term risk?….
What’s at least ironic here is WEB suggesting Back-tested history-based models are for geeks bearing formulae. WEB reiterates “Treasury Bond Bubble,” “Derivatives are Dangerous” and recites how derivatives took down BS, General Re, FNM and FRE (but not BRK?)….
WEB questions the excess volatility input of Black Scholes model used to mark derivatives to market, suggesting volatility is overvalued. Maybe. Not if the bear continues worse after a head fake rally….
Right now, the $10 B 2008 markdown with $37.1 B at risk for a 13% $4.9 B of premium received does not seem like such a good deal. In the long run some of us are dead or ruined…
WEB also wrote derivatives/policies for $3.4 B premium credit default insurance on 100 companies expiring from 20 Sep 2009 to 20 Dec 2013. He paid $542 M in losses, so far, mentioning possibility of overall loss increased….
WEB wrote $4B in CDS on 42 companies like AIG did, saying that business unlikely to expand now that collateral must be posted!….
WEB wrote insurance on municipalities with unfunded pension liabilities at 3 times previous premiums. $15.6 B is accrual accounting with some mark to market. WEB notes muni risks higher with insured bonds. The Mark to market muni portion required a $631 M 2008 posted loss.
Altogether, 2008 BRK derivative transactions generated $8 B in float premium, with many more times potential risk, so far not apparently quantified by BRK in public….
A gifted actuary may be comfortable with what appears to ordinary mortals to be lopsided risk to reward. WEB cites $58.5 of derivative insurance premium pocket money float invested. So what is The Risk long term?….
Like a string of years of unprofitable underwriting, anyone who writes sexy naked puts experiences occasional time bombs by expiration. At Merrill/Schwab, naked options put accounts, clients and executives out of business. More recently, they appear to have put A to AAA firms out of business….
Some naked option sellers were even drawn in to write more nakeds to cover previous losses incurred. Perhaps this was the case with AIG, BS, FNM, FRE, LEH and other off-balance sheet OTC derivative banks imploding….
We recall there are perhaps $600+ T derivatives to unwind, so maybe the deflationary surprises are only beginning….
The Risk is why most counter-parties or broker/dealers require collateral, and much more of it, when equity falls with naked short positions. This makes sleeping at night, or sleeping around with slower smaller government innoculation moot, even if government subsidized losers borrow at 0%+….
Collateral does collapse during deflationary times, leading to further unanticipated undesired falling dominoes of events. BRK purchases of BNI could be triggered by naked put exercises if BNI falls 55% in a year. It did? They were? Guess you must like BNI no matter what the economic weather….
In the case of BRK and WEB, the alchemy of business, insurance and utility risk concentration, float funded investments, mark to market and lack of collateral with a AAA rating could become the Achilles heel in a perfect storm of collateral calls exceeding declining float or even portfolio….
BRK’s $122 B portfolio was down 13% in 2008. So why was BRK down three times that? Well BRK holds some goodies down as much as -55% and -67% in consolidated BNI and MCO holdings, plus the -37% COP WEB mea culpa. (We wonder if the market has fully discounted the risk of a COP Lukoil nationalization by Putin or his surrogate.) Then there’s the unsweet Swiss Re -31% Rick mentioned, with Others down 19%, private holdings down an indeterminate amount, reducing BRK book value a 44 year record -9.6% or -$11.5 B in 2008…
2008 was perhaps only the beginning of the Great Deflation perforated by occasional fast and furious bear market head fake rallies. WEB notes “Derivatives contracts… go unsettled for decades, with counterparties building up huge claims against each other.”….
BRK earnings were down -96% in Q4 of 2008….
Charlie and WEB proclaim they are comfortable with BRK earnings volatility. They find bond yields and cash equivalents terrible long term policy for their derivative/insurance/dividends now. Is this a disguised variation of borrowing long and lending shorter?….
Mr Market may not be entirely comfortable, as BRK shares fell from 151,650 in Dec 2007 to 70,050 this month, some -53%….
After all, BRK is a financial company primarily investing in other financial companies, like insurance and utilities, with a third portion being businesses. Despite proclamations insurance and utilities are not correlated to the economy, they have all taken a hit, thanks to derivatives. They may take more hits longer than expected….
WEB’s Treasury Bond Bubble, perhaps only just begun, may surely affect BRK as financial companies, insurers, utilities and even Black Scholes derivative models are impacted by higher interest rates….
What if counter parties to AAA BRK derivative writing demand higher collateral at the same time BRK collateral is declining? BRK being All In declining assets could be a fine mess indeed unless Mr Market bear rallies enough to provide a chance to raise those terrible assets unfit for an Investment King called cash…
We are reminded of the story of the world’s smartest man grabbing the hippy’s knapsack to abandon his Gulfstream in midair flight. Could this apply to the world’s best investor, #1 in wind generation, as he warned US about derivatives and did not take his own advice?…. http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2008ltr.pdf http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/Favorites.CServlet?obj=ID3251493
ALMar 9, 2009 @ 23:21
I thought that puts writing bet was to expire in 2019/2025 that Buffet did.
If so he will not lose.
Gloom and doom will get worse. A good rally starting in 2009 into 2010 will cause an illusion. Then watch the market tank till 2011. Then watch the mkt go up, but watch commodities get to take off…..till 2014…3 years or run up. Commodities will be it for those 3 years in 2012-2015. But before then, we have to put the masses to sleep…deanimate the story.
Interest rates will go up in 2012, but more so in 2014 and cause a mild recession in 2016..then we start the move up.
Too bad most lemmings will get in to early in 2009 and be slaughtered come 2011, if the don’t take whatever money out in 2010 from the run up.
RichMar 9, 2009 @ 10:19
The bankruptcy of any or all of these zombies may signal Mr Market to go on a buying spree. Meanwhile, Mr Buffett appears to suffer from too much exposure and the delusion that government can do anything constructive beyond getting out of the way, thanks. Waiting for him to admit writing puts on 14,000 Dow and other peak indices without collateral, driving BRK Book and Earnings down such a great idea, particularly after describing derivatives as weapons of mass financial destruction for Salomon, General Re and AIG. Asked him if he favours eliminating Mark-to-Market, (as well as eliminating uptick rule, 10% Net Capital and Glass Steagall Act Depression protections) along with various Treasury Secretaries or Congressionals. Looking forward to his response. Want an example of integrity and intelligence with tenacity despite all odds, see Mumbai’s Slumdog Millionaire. Seems they don’t make Horatio Alger stories in America anymore….
%%%%%
To every billionaire according to his greed. Buffett’s weakness is Swiss Re — and who could have blamed him for not being able to resist?RA
ClarkMar 9, 2009 @ 8:06
This is a shame, 2.1 milliion retires will lose their health insurance plus their other retirement benefits. All anyone wants to do is throw them out, wait till it’s your turn to retire, no one will care about you either, we all can go back to before the unions, before big goverment, let the Rockfellers rule you say, you should read your History, not a pretty place then but not much better today unless/– you can live on social security if you don’t need to eat or pay rent? Just pay your drug bill and shut-up!
%%%%%%
GM’s retirees will almost certainly be backstopped and co-opted by some Obama scheme that won’t include you and me. They’ll be like postal employees and Congressmen, with guarantees and amenities that don’t apply to workers unfortunate enough to be part of the private economy. As far as the Rockefellers and their ilk are concerned, you can tar and feather them and I won’t lift a finger in protest.RA
Brian ClarkMar 9, 2009 @ 1:53
Rick,
I was not a member so I could never submit this 500 word thesis until you opened up this comment section. I hope you enjoy it.
REVERSING INSOLVENCY
Every generation must learn, cycles of boom and bust is inevitable. An effective system
That counteracted that cycle was the “Jubilee.” It functioned in a reverse methodology from today’s. The Jubilee answers the core economic questions ‘who should own what?’ and ‘who should get what? The Jubilee basically functioned where no one could buy land but lease it only. To summarize, let’s say an entity (The United States Government) owned all the land of which they leased the parcels to whoever might qualify for a period of fifty years. The lease payments would be system of tax collection of which all governments’ services would be met. Leases and subleases would allow every individual inclusion and rights. If the lease payments were defaulted upon all owed debt would be forgiven that individual at an appointed time, perhaps 7 or 50 years. Individual land ownership could also apply.
Systematic change will ultimately be required for successful economic harmony!
Let the ideas presented provoke you to thought.
BANKING SYSTEM -STOP THE BAILOUTS: Remove the Federal Reserve.
Banks must be allowed to fail The new bankers of the new banking system would simply become an agent of the lease holder whereby they would receive a portion of the proceeds that are obtained by the lease holder The more efficient they are the greater the profit thereby enabling them to pay their own leases off
THE MONETARY UNIT OR CURRENCY: The inflationary forces (excessive supply) verses deflationary
Forces (debt implosion) can be solved by allowing a gold standard to be established strengthening the dollar and allowing debt relief in the form of debt forgiveness .In other words just as Jubilee allows for debt relief so can we allow for it as deflation takes full effect (debt implosion) after which mortgage holders would be relieved of their debt in proportion to everyone else’s; while those not in liability granted future tax breaks. Total debt to net worth of individuals could be determined by the latest tax returns and credit reports so as to determine equitable entitlement The gold standard on the other hand would allow for a strengthening of the currency bringing monetary balance keeping the prices of commodities and services in check and allowing the economic system to prod forward. The forces of inflation and deflation would meet somewhere in the middle. In regards to the gold standard all present holders of gold would be allowed to sell their gold to the Treasury at rates determined by the market after the plan for the gold standard was set to law. In the process futures contracts for gold would be eliminated so as to eliminate manipulation
RIGHTS OF OWNERSHIP: With debt relief granted rights of ownership would have to be amended whereby the property on which the home is situated becomes the property of the lease holder (The United States?) and the improvements, services and production of the land become the rights of the individual. This will allow for a gradual transition to the Jubilee principle outlined above
TRADE AND THE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS: As the dollar strengthens with the gold standard in place all outstanding debts owed by the United States would be paid without default so as to keep trade avenues open. Price competitiveness for product produced as individual debt obligations are decreased thereby require less wage increases and may even force lower wages across all spectrums In turn as growth continues in China and India and south America their wages are likely to increase thereby bring labor costs to a path of equilibrium
RESTORE THE MANUFACTURING BASE: With price competition moving towards global equilibrium the manufacturing of all essential then, later, nonessential products must be produced and established on American soil. This will restore our trade balance and provide jobs in America.
PREPARE FOR TRANSITION:
The forces that are plaguing us are likely to bring about a form of nationalization in which we become more domestic centered. The “TO BIG TO FAIL” protectionism that is occurring in the mortgage and lending markets is already redistributing assets into the governments control with many foreclosed homes likely becoming under the governments umbrella. With nationalism influencing public political policy the initial stages of Jubilee principles (leased homes and properties and debt forgiveness) can be initiated.
The historical cyclical patterns are to be used as roadmaps to a more efficient means of systematic change. Let us realize change is upon us, work in harmony with it to create a new system. The Jubilee!
Send them into chapter 11 and let the fur fly and the chips fall as they may. The time to deal with this problem is now. And my feeling is that this company will gain some real credibility in the publics mind once it starts to make some of the hard choices that are required to bring about a the changes required for a renaissance in the industry. No more freebies. Just clean up your act and make the tough choices like everyone else. Why has this company been molly-coddled anyway when it has acted so irresponsibly as a business concern?
As soon as policy-makers have the guts to take the flak and send a clear message that every sad-case enterprise standing in line for a bailout won’t get one, the sooner we will get to the end of this pork-barreling and easy money bailout madness. The Gold-Rush for Government handouts is out of control. Where will it end? Some hard work needs to be done by GM and others that does not include writing proposals for free cash so they can carry on “as usual”.
Comments on this entry are closed.
No WEBslinger here Al et al:
“So far as I can discover, paper money systems have always wound up with collapse and economic chaos.” Congressman Howard Buffett.
Genteel WEB yesterday on CNBC apparently agreed, calling this an Economic Pearl Harbor. He reiterated support for government bailouts with mark to market. He claimed in the BRK 2008 Annual Letter the financial world went from underpricing risk to overpricing it. Maybe. We are still in a bear market….
WEB did not trade a Great Deflation like his mentor Benjamin Graham. WEB a 1930s boy who came of age at the beginning of the Great Jubilee Baby Boomer Bull Market. Times and trends change…
Per his 2008 Annual Letter, WEB sold European-style 99% uncollateralized puts on S&P500, Euro Stoxx50, FTSE100, Nikkei 225. They were written to expire/pay from 9 Sep 2019 to 24 Jan 2028. WEB sold higher volatility premiums with little collateral because of BRK’s AAA status (1 of 7 in USA)….
WEB expects to keep premium & invest it with no cost but The Risk. The Risk has already cost him $10 B in 2008 writedowns, whoops. What about the long-term risk?….
What’s at least ironic here is WEB suggesting Back-tested history-based models are for geeks bearing formulae. WEB reiterates “Treasury Bond Bubble,” “Derivatives are Dangerous” and recites how derivatives took down BS, General Re, FNM and FRE (but not BRK?)….
WEB questions the excess volatility input of Black Scholes model used to mark derivatives to market, suggesting volatility is overvalued. Maybe. Not if the bear continues worse after a head fake rally….
Right now, the $10 B 2008 markdown with $37.1 B at risk for a 13% $4.9 B of premium received does not seem like such a good deal. In the long run some of us are dead or ruined…
WEB also wrote derivatives/policies for $3.4 B premium credit default insurance on 100 companies expiring from 20 Sep 2009 to 20 Dec 2013. He paid $542 M in losses, so far, mentioning possibility of overall loss increased….
WEB wrote $4B in CDS on 42 companies like AIG did, saying that business unlikely to expand now that collateral must be posted!….
WEB wrote insurance on municipalities with unfunded pension liabilities at 3 times previous premiums. $15.6 B is accrual accounting with some mark to market. WEB notes muni risks higher with insured bonds. The Mark to market muni portion required a $631 M 2008 posted loss.
Altogether, 2008 BRK derivative transactions generated $8 B in float premium, with many more times potential risk, so far not apparently quantified by BRK in public….
A gifted actuary may be comfortable with what appears to ordinary mortals to be lopsided risk to reward. WEB cites $58.5 of derivative insurance premium pocket money float invested. So what is The Risk long term?….
Like a string of years of unprofitable underwriting, anyone who writes sexy naked puts experiences occasional time bombs by expiration. At Merrill/Schwab, naked options put accounts, clients and executives out of business. More recently, they appear to have put A to AAA firms out of business….
Some naked option sellers were even drawn in to write more nakeds to cover previous losses incurred. Perhaps this was the case with AIG, BS, FNM, FRE, LEH and other off-balance sheet OTC derivative banks imploding….
We recall there are perhaps $600+ T derivatives to unwind, so maybe the deflationary surprises are only beginning….
The Risk is why most counter-parties or broker/dealers require collateral, and much more of it, when equity falls with naked short positions. This makes sleeping at night, or sleeping around with slower smaller government innoculation moot, even if government subsidized losers borrow at 0%+….
Collateral does collapse during deflationary times, leading to further unanticipated undesired falling dominoes of events. BRK purchases of BNI could be triggered by naked put exercises if BNI falls 55% in a year. It did? They were? Guess you must like BNI no matter what the economic weather….
In the case of BRK and WEB, the alchemy of business, insurance and utility risk concentration, float funded investments, mark to market and lack of collateral with a AAA rating could become the Achilles heel in a perfect storm of collateral calls exceeding declining float or even portfolio….
BRK’s $122 B portfolio was down 13% in 2008. So why was BRK down three times that? Well BRK holds some goodies down as much as -55% and -67% in consolidated BNI and MCO holdings, plus the -37% COP WEB mea culpa. (We wonder if the market has fully discounted the risk of a COP Lukoil nationalization by Putin or his surrogate.) Then there’s the unsweet Swiss Re -31% Rick mentioned, with Others down 19%, private holdings down an indeterminate amount, reducing BRK book value a 44 year record -9.6% or -$11.5 B in 2008…
2008 was perhaps only the beginning of the Great Deflation perforated by occasional fast and furious bear market head fake rallies. WEB notes “Derivatives contracts… go unsettled for decades, with counterparties building up huge claims against each other.”….
BRK earnings were down -96% in Q4 of 2008….
Charlie and WEB proclaim they are comfortable with BRK earnings volatility. They find bond yields and cash equivalents terrible long term policy for their derivative/insurance/dividends now. Is this a disguised variation of borrowing long and lending shorter?….
Mr Market may not be entirely comfortable, as BRK shares fell from 151,650 in Dec 2007 to 70,050 this month, some -53%….
After all, BRK is a financial company primarily investing in other financial companies, like insurance and utilities, with a third portion being businesses. Despite proclamations insurance and utilities are not correlated to the economy, they have all taken a hit, thanks to derivatives. They may take more hits longer than expected….
WEB’s Treasury Bond Bubble, perhaps only just begun, may surely affect BRK as financial companies, insurers, utilities and even Black Scholes derivative models are impacted by higher interest rates….
What if counter parties to AAA BRK derivative writing demand higher collateral at the same time BRK collateral is declining? BRK being All In declining assets could be a fine mess indeed unless Mr Market bear rallies enough to provide a chance to raise those terrible assets unfit for an Investment King called cash…
We are reminded of the story of the world’s smartest man grabbing the hippy’s knapsack to abandon his Gulfstream in midair flight. Could this apply to the world’s best investor, #1 in wind generation, as he warned US about derivatives and did not take his own advice?….
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2008ltr.pdf
http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/Favorites.CServlet?obj=ID3251493
I thought that puts writing bet was to expire in 2019/2025 that Buffet did.
If so he will not lose.
Gloom and doom will get worse. A good rally starting in 2009 into 2010 will cause an illusion. Then watch the market tank till 2011. Then watch the mkt go up, but watch commodities get to take off…..till 2014…3 years or run up. Commodities will be it for those 3 years in 2012-2015. But before then, we have to put the masses to sleep…deanimate the story.
Interest rates will go up in 2012, but more so in 2014 and cause a mild recession in 2016..then we start the move up.
Too bad most lemmings will get in to early in 2009 and be slaughtered come 2011, if the don’t take whatever money out in 2010 from the run up.
The bankruptcy of any or all of these zombies may signal Mr Market to go on a buying spree. Meanwhile, Mr Buffett appears to suffer from too much exposure and the delusion that government can do anything constructive beyond getting out of the way, thanks. Waiting for him to admit writing puts on 14,000 Dow and other peak indices without collateral, driving BRK Book and Earnings down such a great idea, particularly after describing derivatives as weapons of mass financial destruction for Salomon, General Re and AIG. Asked him if he favours eliminating Mark-to-Market, (as well as eliminating uptick rule, 10% Net Capital and Glass Steagall Act Depression protections) along with various Treasury Secretaries or Congressionals. Looking forward to his response. Want an example of integrity and intelligence with tenacity despite all odds, see Mumbai’s Slumdog Millionaire. Seems they don’t make Horatio Alger stories in America anymore….
%%%%%
To every billionaire according to his greed. Buffett’s weakness is Swiss Re — and who could have blamed him for not being able to resist? RA
This is a shame, 2.1 milliion retires will lose their health insurance plus their other retirement benefits. All anyone wants to do is throw them out, wait till it’s your turn to retire, no one will care about you either, we all can go back to before the unions, before big goverment, let the Rockfellers rule you say, you should read your History, not a pretty place then but not much better today unless/– you can live on social security if you don’t need to eat or pay rent? Just pay your drug bill and shut-up!
%%%%%%
GM’s retirees will almost certainly be backstopped and co-opted by some Obama scheme that won’t include you and me. They’ll be like postal employees and Congressmen, with guarantees and amenities that don’t apply to workers unfortunate enough to be part of the private economy. As far as the Rockefellers and their ilk are concerned, you can tar and feather them and I won’t lift a finger in protest. RA
Rick,
I was not a member so I could never submit this 500 word thesis until you opened up this comment section. I hope you enjoy it.
REVERSING INSOLVENCY
Every generation must learn, cycles of boom and bust is inevitable. An effective system
That counteracted that cycle was the “Jubilee.” It functioned in a reverse methodology from today’s. The Jubilee answers the core economic questions ‘who should own what?’ and ‘who should get what? The Jubilee basically functioned where no one could buy land but lease it only. To summarize, let’s say an entity (The United States Government) owned all the land of which they leased the parcels to whoever might qualify for a period of fifty years. The lease payments would be system of tax collection of which all governments’ services would be met. Leases and subleases would allow every individual inclusion and rights. If the lease payments were defaulted upon all owed debt would be forgiven that individual at an appointed time, perhaps 7 or 50 years. Individual land ownership could also apply.
Systematic change will ultimately be required for successful economic harmony!
Let the ideas presented provoke you to thought.
BANKING SYSTEM -STOP THE BAILOUTS: Remove the Federal Reserve.
Banks must be allowed to fail The new bankers of the new banking system would simply become an agent of the lease holder whereby they would receive a portion of the proceeds that are obtained by the lease holder The more efficient they are the greater the profit thereby enabling them to pay their own leases off
THE MONETARY UNIT OR CURRENCY: The inflationary forces (excessive supply) verses deflationary
Forces (debt implosion) can be solved by allowing a gold standard to be established strengthening the dollar and allowing debt relief in the form of debt forgiveness .In other words just as Jubilee allows for debt relief so can we allow for it as deflation takes full effect (debt implosion) after which mortgage holders would be relieved of their debt in proportion to everyone else’s; while those not in liability granted future tax breaks. Total debt to net worth of individuals could be determined by the latest tax returns and credit reports so as to determine equitable entitlement The gold standard on the other hand would allow for a strengthening of the currency bringing monetary balance keeping the prices of commodities and services in check and allowing the economic system to prod forward. The forces of inflation and deflation would meet somewhere in the middle. In regards to the gold standard all present holders of gold would be allowed to sell their gold to the Treasury at rates determined by the market after the plan for the gold standard was set to law. In the process futures contracts for gold would be eliminated so as to eliminate manipulation
RIGHTS OF OWNERSHIP: With debt relief granted rights of ownership would have to be amended whereby the property on which the home is situated becomes the property of the lease holder (The United States?) and the improvements, services and production of the land become the rights of the individual. This will allow for a gradual transition to the Jubilee principle outlined above
TRADE AND THE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS: As the dollar strengthens with the gold standard in place all outstanding debts owed by the United States would be paid without default so as to keep trade avenues open. Price competitiveness for product produced as individual debt obligations are decreased thereby require less wage increases and may even force lower wages across all spectrums In turn as growth continues in China and India and south America their wages are likely to increase thereby bring labor costs to a path of equilibrium
RESTORE THE MANUFACTURING BASE: With price competition moving towards global equilibrium the manufacturing of all essential then, later, nonessential products must be produced and established on American soil. This will restore our trade balance and provide jobs in America.
PREPARE FOR TRANSITION:
The forces that are plaguing us are likely to bring about a form of nationalization in which we become more domestic centered. The “TO BIG TO FAIL” protectionism that is occurring in the mortgage and lending markets is already redistributing assets into the governments control with many foreclosed homes likely becoming under the governments umbrella. With nationalism influencing public political policy the initial stages of Jubilee principles (leased homes and properties and debt forgiveness) can be initiated.
The historical cyclical patterns are to be used as roadmaps to a more efficient means of systematic change. Let us realize change is upon us, work in harmony with it to create a new system. The Jubilee!
Author;
Brian Clark
bcfromny@mindspring.com
May 29, 2008
I could not agree more.
Send them into chapter 11 and let the fur fly and the chips fall as they may. The time to deal with this problem is now. And my feeling is that this company will gain some real credibility in the publics mind once it starts to make some of the hard choices that are required to bring about a the changes required for a renaissance in the industry. No more freebies. Just clean up your act and make the tough choices like everyone else. Why has this company been molly-coddled anyway when it has acted so irresponsibly as a business concern?
As soon as policy-makers have the guts to take the flak and send a clear message that every sad-case enterprise standing in line for a bailout won’t get one, the sooner we will get to the end of this pork-barreling and easy money bailout madness. The Gold-Rush for Government handouts is out of control. Where will it end? Some hard work needs to be done by GM and others that does not include writing proposals for free cash so they can carry on “as usual”.
Cam