“But new statistics showing economic recovery is on the way provided the much bigger news for stocks today. The ISM manufacturing index rose for the fifth-straight month. And the new-orders component moved to 51.1 — an actual recovery. Meanwhile, private construction surged in April by 1.4 percent. That includes a 0.7 percent monthly gain for housing and a huge 1.8 percent increase for commercial building — the third-straight monthly rise. China’s manufacturing index gained, too, showing the third-straight month above 50. That’s a big recovery signal.”

http://kudlow.nationalreview.com/

He’s dismissing Obamy’s 5 or 6 interventions into the free market.

Told ya he’s an optimistic guy.

Ralph Nadar seems to have the unique ability to frequently be profoundly wrong, and at other times, like now, TO BE PROFOUNDLY RIGHT.

Nader Statement On GM Bankruptcy

Jun. 1, 2009

WASHINGTON, June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Consumer advocate Ralph Nader today issued the following statement on GM’s bankruptcy filing:

Today’s bankruptcy declaration in federal court by General Motors is an avoidable, crude weapon of mass devastation for workers, dealers, auto suppliers, small businesses and their depleted communities. For GM’s voiceless owners — the common shareholders — it is a wipeout.

The proximate cause of the bankruptcy was supposed to be the inability of GM and the government’s auto task force to reach an accommodation with GM’s bondholders. But late last week, the bondholder problem was moving toward rapid resolution, and was clearly resolvable. Why then are GM and its multibillion government financier proceeding with bankruptcy?

The bankruptcy and the GM restructuring plan are the product of a secretive, unaccountable, Wall Street-minded government task force that assumed power because of a Congressional abdication of historic magnitude. By all rights, the restructuring plan should have been submitted to Congress for deliberative review and decision.

There is little doubt that GM’s chronic mismanagement and the deep recession require restructuring and scaling back the auto giant. But the bankruptcy and restructuring plan appear poised to do so in ways that will needlessly harm the stakeholders meant to be helped by Washington’s rescue of GM?

Many, many jobs will be lost that could be preserved. There is reason to question whether too many plants and brands are being closed — a matter that should have been taken up in Congress. Just the closing of hundreds of (GM and Chrysler) dealerships will cost more than 100,000 jobs. These sacrificed jobs will fray communities and impose enormous expenses on government entities that will have to provide unemployment and social relief, while suffering lost tax revenues.

The unionized workforce will see the wage and benefit structure slashed — even though auto manufacturer wages make up less than 10 percent of the cost of a car — so that new jobs at GM will no longer be a ticket to the middle class. This will drag down the wage structure of the entire auto industry — exactly the wrong direction for the country.

America’s manufacturing base will be further eroded, as GM pursues its Grand China Strategy — increasing manufacturing outside of the United States, and increasingly from China, for import back into the United States. Unanswered questions persist about how GM’s valuable operations in China, and unrepatriated profits, will be treated in bankruptcy, or excluded from bankruptcy.

Victims of defective GM products may find themselves with no legal avenue to pursue justice. In the Chrysler bankruptcy, with complete disregard for the real human lives involved, the Obama task force and auto company have maneuvered effectively to extinguish the product liability claims of victims of defective cars.

In a worst case scenario for the GM bankruptcy — involving an extended court proceeding or severe impairment of consumer confidence in the GM brand — all of these problems will be magnified. Again, given the path to resolution with the bondholders, this is an avoidable gamble.

The GM/task force bankruptcy plans appear geared to saving the General Motors entity — but at a harsh and often avoidable cost to workers, communities, suppliers, consumers, dealers, and the nation’s manufacturing capacity. It will also prove to be a complex political nightmare for President Obama.

With the company entering bankruptcy, the next challenge will be to ensure that the government exercises its ownership rights to undo and mitigate, to the extent possible, these damages. Among other measures, this should involve revisiting the serious drag-down, concessionary wage terms imposed on the United Auto Workers; demanding a moratorium on GM’s outsourcing of production of cars for sale in the United States; and establishing successorship liability for the new GM, so that victims of dangerous and defective GM cars can have their day in court.

http://tinyurl.com/n7oozc

you can 5x the 58K jobs saved, because every saved job saves that many others.

Obamy is a genius.

And this is just GM.

Imagine when he really gets the bankruptcy engine going.

…..”Within months in Flint in 1942, GM halted all car production and immediately used the assembly lines to build planes, tanks and machine guns. The conversion took no time at all. Everyone pitched in. The fascists were defeated…….”

“The fascists were defeated.” How quaint. What would this fat tub of shit know about defeating fascism? He can’t even identify it while it’s happening all around him. I can hear it now. “Y’all better knock it off or I’m going to hit myself in the head real hard. Then you’ll know what your dealing with.” This piece of human rubbish doesn’t even realize that what he advocates IS fascism.

I can’t say as I’d mind if he did take himself out, though.

He doesn’t want to run it so much as control it.

As long as the companies jump when he farts, he’s happy.

Senior administration officials said on Sunday there was plenty to keep the task force staff busy, monitoring the government’s stake of about 60 percent of GM and less than 10 percent in Chrysler.”

But I thought Obama had no interest in running a car company?!?

Why was bankruptcy “not allowable” again, and why is it now?