Wagoner’s out at GM, essentially pushed out by the Obama administration without consult from the rest of the policy makers in Washington (i.e. Congress) as a condition of new government loans.

This serves as nothing more than strengthened evidence of how screwed up our government really is.  At no point in history has a CEO ever been forced to leave through direct consult of the President of the United States.  A company board of directors reigns supreme over the function of the company, and last I checked no one from the Obama administration sits on the GM board of directors.

This is not how capitalism works.  This is not how free markets work.  This is not how a publicly traded company works.

If the Obama administration wanted authoritative power over who holds what position in a company, they should have bought stock and run the CEO and the board of directors straight out of Detroit.  Instead, the government gave the company a loan, which at last check, does not come with any voting rights.

To be sure, Wagoner needed to leave. His leadership was and has been ineffective for the last 5 years with no forward thinking and a complete lack of influence from the corner office.  But to be run out of town by the Government is preposterous.

The punchline to all this came from the joker himself:  “The government does not wish to run an auto company.”

Furthermore, if bankruptcy is an option, as Mr. Obama now states, then why did all that taxpayer money get dumped into the company in the first place?

The next joke will come at the conclusion of the bankruptcy hearings; as repayment of taxpayer money will be forgiven as debt is erased and creditors are shooed away.  All in the name of a stronger and healthier General Motors.

Meanwhile, Ford hasn’t taken a dime.

Business, Finance, Politics bankruptcy, GM, Rick Wagoner

The returns are in, and again, it’s not pretty.  All told, I owe just shy of $3,000 to the local and federal government, of which $2,400 of that goes to the IRS, headed by Tim Geithner who can’t even pay his own taxes.

I’m disappointed that even after having both our employers withhold the maximum amount allowable (i.e. claiming zero dependents on the W-4 form), having a whopper of a loss in the market last year, that I still end up owing a bunch of money to the federal government.

What irritates me the most though, is not so much that I owe money, it’s knowing that the money I send the government is pissed away by the inefficiencies and reckless spending in Washington.

Face it, there are government programs out there that we all benefit from and consequently should be required to pay for.  The interstate highway system, the postal system, etc.  I have no problem funding those types of programs.  It’s the bacon museum on the East coast that cost us, the taxpayers over $2 million, and all the other useless and wasteful crap that our politicians float into bills that evidently aren’t even read before they’re voted upon.

In all, I paid my home state just over $300, the state which I own rental property just $41, and the state in which I own oil production just under $100.  Effectively, it seems that my state tax obligations are well appropriated throughout the year through monthly deductions and tax payments… it’s just the federal money that’s stuck in my craw.

Maybe I should just jump on the Ed Barnett bandwagon and politely decline to pay taxes this year…

Taxes Ed Barnett, Taxes, Tim Geithner

If you haven’t read Jake DeSantis’ public resignation from AIG, you should.

It bears no surprise to this free market capitalist that businesses have and will suffer greatly from Congresses grand standing and bloviating in Washington these last several weeks.  Why would anyone care to work for a company that has taken taxpayer money if they will be personally lambasted for doing a good job and compensated for doing so.

It’s clear that Congress has no desire to hear or even seek out the facts, and makes no bones about acting childishly before the people that are working to unwind troubled companies.

As with any good poker game, with employment you must know when to hold ‘em, and know when to fold ‘em.  And this is a prime example of when it’s just a smart move to walk away from the table.

Business, Politics AIG, Congress, Jake DeSantis