President Obama and his supporters have been more than happy to tout his bailout of the auto industry, but General Motors still owes taxpayers $42 billion according to an Inspector General's report and the company's stock has hit an all time low.
GM owes $27 billion on the nearly $50 billion it received from the auto bailout and Ally Bank, the company’s lending arm, owes $14.7 billion of the $17.2 billion taxpayer-funded bailout it received.
GM’s stock has plummeted in recent months after stagnant development in overseas markets. It hit a new low on Wednesday, falling to $18.80, a 52 percent drop from its January 2011 high of $38.90.
The rapid decline of the stock price has kept taxpayers on the hook for billions in unpaid bailout dollars. The stock would need to make a quick—and meteoric—turnaround for taxpayers to break even.
“In order to recoup its total investment in GM, Treasury will need to recover an additional $27 billion in proceeds. This translates to an average of $53.98 per share on its remaining common shares in New GM,” the IG report concluded.
Recommended
The electric Chevy Volt, a GM vehicle touted by President Obama and environmentalists (the same environmentalists waging a war on coal) is also failing miserably.
Chevy sold 7,671 Volts last year. Nissan’s all-electric Leaf didn’t do much better with 9,674 sales — less than half what Nissan had expected. Car makers often give up on conventional vehicles that post such poor numbers.
Keep working taxpayers! The government is depending on you.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member