(cc photo by dave7)
The Obama administration is trying to remind members of congress that they shouldn’t wreck the auto bailout by all trying to save their district’s favorite car dealer:
The leader of President Obama’s automotive task force warned members of Congress on Tuesday that reversing or stopping the closing of thousands of General Motors and Chrysler dealerships could threaten the automakers’ turnarounds and keep them from repaying billions in government loans.
The official, Ron Bloom, also said the government no longer needed to guarantee the warranties on G.M. and Chrysler vehicles, now that the companies had emerged from bankruptcy protection. Mr. Bloom said the $641 million given to the guarantee program had been repaid, with interest. No claims were made under the program.
I’ve been extremely skeptical of this auto bailout initiative from the get-go. But things have actually turned out, thus far, much better than I would have expected. The bankruptcy process went relatively smoothly, and in the scheme of things the volume of net government expenditures has been pretty restrained. But congress stepping in and preventing the dealership closings would throw all of that into jeopardy.
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