GM Pays Off Its Visa With Its Platinum Visa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSNPFVLIWjI

You may have seen GM CEO Ed Whitacre busting his buttons on the teevee the other day: “We have repaid our government loan,” said the proud papa. “In full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule.”

Since GM had only sixty seconds to make the case, there must not have been time for the qualifier — GM’s TARP loan was paid with funds from another government loan:

On April 20, GM repaid the Treasury loan with cash in an escrow account that it owns. The escrow account was created last summer in connection with the structuring of GM. The money used to fund the escrow account came from a portion of the proceeds of a loan made by both the Treasury and the Canadian government. The escrowed funds were expected to be used for extraordinary expenses, and a portion of the funds were so used. Treasury retained approval rights over GM’s use of funds from the escrow account in order to protect the taxpayer, but the cash was still the property of GM.

That would be Herb Allison, the delightfully titled “Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability,” performing an equally delightful tap dance at the behest of Chuck Grassley. It’s GM’s cash, Herb insists. We merely gave it to them. And controlled how they spent it.

Nice work, Herbicide. Those long years at Merrill Lynch served you well.

GM Under Fire for ‘Misleading’ Bailout Ad [ABC]

Repaying Taxpayers With Their Own Cash [NYT]

13 Comments

Apparently they got some of those balance transfer checks in the mail.

We know how well that plan works…

Enormous corporations—they’re just like us!

@Mistress Cynica: That’s what I thought. Finally my way of doing banking seems to be catching on. And when the Platinum VISA gets used up you just open another. It’s so awesome and even a child can do it. Wait.

Plus. I appeal to Stinque Law (we know who you are) for assist on research. No I don’t want to get a living will done for free.

I just saw that Lynn Redgrave died. I’m heartbroken and am actually in tears. She was heaven.

@Benedick: I was so sad to see that. 67 is way too young. I feel for Vanessa, losing her daughter, brother, and sister within a year.

@Dodgerblue: I did. I a 12th Night at Stratford, CT. She was warm and jolly and hard-working and totes fab in the Viola dept. I loved her. And when she came to see me later in a show I was doing she just as grand and funny and no-nonsense as ever.

@Benedick:

Ah! Lynn Redgrave as Viola!

Now I must shed a small tear for not seeing that…

@Tommmcatt Loves The Giant Floating Head: She was heaven. Though couldn’t quite overcome the witless director. And Penny Fuller was Olivia. They were pretty fantastic together. She had, at that, time famously awful children. But they grew up and seem to have done just fine.

The OH just reminded me that it was reported when Michael R was in hospital shortly before he died with his memory in tatters and not knowing where he was, Lynn and V were visiting. The movable curtains had been drawn about the bed and M, naturally thinking he was in a theatre, said to them “Is it a good house?”

@Mistress Cynica: Isn’t it? Typical actor. Touching, foolish and grand.

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