Not so:

" General Motors Co. will begin paying back $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans by the end of 2009 and could pay off that full amount by 2011, four years ahead of schedule, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The government debt represents about 13 percent of the $52 billion that U.S. taxpayers have invested in General Motors, the majority of which was exchanged for a 61 percent ownership stake in the company.

GM will announce the repayment plan Monday when it releases its preliminary third-quarter earnings results, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity"

This could only happen in ObamaNation.

Are you this stupid in real life?

"Taxpayers on hook as some bailed-out firms prove frail"

The net effect being that some of the bigger shareholders, i.e. those in the know, had a little extra time to get out?

This could only happen in ObamaNation.
Are you this stupid in real life?
#2 | Posted by 726

Uhhhhhhh......
Uh huh.
Do I get a prize?
~K+B+M

The net effect being that some of the bigger shareholders, i.e. those in the know, had a little extra time to get out?

Exactly. Nothing is done in Washington without considering how it effects the donor base.

taxpayers' investment

Linus Wilson, a University of Louisiana finance professor, and William Black, a University of Missouri economist, said federal bureaucrats took huge risks with taxpayers' money by investing in banks under the TARP program and the United Commercial failure underscores it.

"It was not clear why the U.S. Treasury led by Henry Paulson chose to invest in so many banks at a time when banks had no trouble collecting deposits," Wilson said. "In most cases, taxpayers were forced to take risks that had little payoff in terms of stabilizing the financial system or encouraging banks to lend to business and families."

Black said Treasury's decision to inject $298 million into one bank with few checks and no security was "immensely stupid."

"Any commercially competent person would have negotiated a better deal for the American taxpayer if they were trying to operate in the public interest," he said.

East West and United Commercial were once fierce competitors. Blending the two banks' operations creates the second-largest California-based bank, after Wells Fargo.

East West received $306.5 million in TARP money itself last December, and its own losses have been mounting.

East West lost $59 million on revenue of $713 million last year. It lost $69 million alone during this year's third quarter and said it is reviewing future dividend payouts "given the economic climate."