Because Treasury funds were used to bail out sections of the auto industry, shares from the now more financially stable General Motors (GM) should be sold and the proceeds should go into the pockets of those who financed the original transaction — U.S. taxpayers, presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wrote in an op-ed article in the
Detroit News.
“The shares need to be sold in a responsible fashion and the proceeds turned over to the nation’s taxpayers,” Romney writes.
The Detroit native argues that President Barack Obama’s management of the economy, specifically in Detroit, has done a disservice to the people while rewarding union bosses. The funds from the sale of shares should be returned to help revitalize Motor City.
“A labor union that had contributed millions to Democrats and his election campaign was granted an ownership share of Chrysler and a major stake in GM, two flagships of the industry,” Romney wrote. “The U.S. Department of Treasury — American taxpayers — was asked to become a majority stockholder of GM. And a politically connected and ethically challenged Obama-campaign contributor, the financier Steven Rattner, was asked to preside over all this as auto czar.”
Romney goes on to argue that Obama’s handling of the auto unions not only made things worse, but was the epitome of crony capitalism and the destruction of a free-market system.
“The dream of the Motor City is and always has been one of ideas, innovation, enterprise, and opportunity. It started with Henry Ford and continued with visionaries like William Durant, Walter Chrysler, and the Dodge Brothers,” Romney argues. “These giants never envisioned a role for government in their business, but relied on the hard work and commitment of private individuals.
“Their dream is alive in all of us who have ever called Detroit home,” he says. “And with a Detroiter in the White House, that dream can be realized once again.”
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