{"id":1118,"date":"2008-11-08T00:57:19","date_gmt":"2008-11-08T04:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/?p=1118"},"modified":"2008-11-08T00:57:19","modified_gmt":"2008-11-08T04:57:19","slug":"let-gm-go-bankrupt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/","title":{"rendered":"Let G.M. go bankrupt"},"content":{"rendered":"

G.M. is in trouble, according to the latest news.\u00a0 The company has some contracts and other obligations that it can’t afford.\u00a0 What can the government do to help?<\/p>\n

Answer: The government has already done everything that it needs to in order to help G.M.\u00a0 The government established bankruptcy courts so that a company like G.M. can go through a Chapter 11 reorganization.\u00a0 During the Chapter 11 process, a judge has the power to adjust the company’s obligations so that they can be paid from the company’s likely future revenue.\u00a0 Chapter 11 was designed specifically so that employees can keep their jobs, albeit possibly at lower salaries, while shareholders and creditors suffer and\/or are wiped out.<\/p>\n

The stockholders, creditors, and employees of G.M. do not deserve to be spared the pain of the recession.\u00a0 The rest of America will be taking pay cuts, losing jobs, giving discounts to customers, etc.\u00a0 What is special about G.M. that they should be able to live as though 2008 never happened?<\/p>\n

[Note that the current market capitalization of G.M. is only about $2.8 billion (compare to over $100 billion for Google).\u00a0 The shareholders have already lost almost 100 percent of their investment.\u00a0 The world won’t come to an end if these shareholders go from losing 95 percent to losing 100 percent.\u00a0 An evaporation of $2.8 billion will barely register compare to the losses that the S&P 500 holders suffer nearly every day.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

G.M. is in trouble, according to the latest news.\u00a0 The company has some contracts and other obligations that it can’t afford.\u00a0 What can the government do to help? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nLet G.M. go bankrupt - Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let G.M. go bankrupt - Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"G.M. is in trouble, according to the latest news.\u00a0 The company has some contracts and other obligations that it can’t afford.\u00a0 What can the government do to help? […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-11-08T04:57:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"philg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"philg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/11\\\/08\\\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/11\\\/08\\\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"philg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/448e4e6a0ae9105741a06dcf62cee50e\"},\"headline\":\"Let G.M. go bankrupt\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-11-08T04:57:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/11\\\/08\\\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":240,\"commentCount\":54,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/448e4e6a0ae9105741a06dcf62cee50e\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/11\\\/08\\\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/11\\\/08\\\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/11\\\/08\\\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\\\/\",\"name\":\"Let G.M. go bankrupt - Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-11-08T04:57:19+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/11\\\/08\\\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/11\\\/08\\\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/11\\\/08\\\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Let G.M. go bankrupt\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog\",\"description\":\"A posting every day; an interesting idea every three months...\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/448e4e6a0ae9105741a06dcf62cee50e\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/448e4e6a0ae9105741a06dcf62cee50e\",\"name\":\"philg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20210525-philip-greenspun-sea-turtle-release-scaled.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20210525-philip-greenspun-sea-turtle-release-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20210525-philip-greenspun-sea-turtle-release-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2047,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"philg\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/20210525-philip-greenspun-sea-turtle-release-scaled.jpg\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/philip.greenspun.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/philg\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Let G.M. go bankrupt - Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Let G.M. go bankrupt - Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog","og_description":"G.M. is in trouble, according to the latest news.\u00a0 The company has some contracts and other obligations that it can’t afford.\u00a0 What can the government do to help? […]","og_url":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/","og_site_name":"Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog","article_published_time":"2008-11-08T04:57:19+00:00","author":"philg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"philg","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/"},"author":{"name":"philg","@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/448e4e6a0ae9105741a06dcf62cee50e"},"headline":"Let G.M. go bankrupt","datePublished":"2008-11-08T04:57:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/"},"wordCount":240,"commentCount":54,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/448e4e6a0ae9105741a06dcf62cee50e"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/","url":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/","name":"Let G.M. go bankrupt - Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-11-08T04:57:19+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/08\/let-gm-go-bankrupt\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Let G.M. go bankrupt"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/","name":"Philip Greenspun\u2019s Weblog","description":"A posting every day; an interesting idea every three months...","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/448e4e6a0ae9105741a06dcf62cee50e"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/448e4e6a0ae9105741a06dcf62cee50e","name":"philg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20210525-philip-greenspun-sea-turtle-release-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20210525-philip-greenspun-sea-turtle-release-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20210525-philip-greenspun-sea-turtle-release-scaled.jpg","width":2047,"height":2560,"caption":"philg"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20210525-philip-greenspun-sea-turtle-release-scaled.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/author\/philg\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paokyZ-i2","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}