Wow! That’s my first response to hearing about General Motors filing for bankruptcy. My next response was to question how in the world could this happen to the second-largest industrial company? How could this company be so mis-managed? I mean, because of this sorry example of management, General Motors is closing 17 factories and parts centers and will cut 20,000 more jobs by the end of 2011 in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee. What a travesty!

Now, keep in mind, the government has already given General Motors $20 billion in bailout funds. But, guess what? The government is going to give General Motors an extra $30 billion to help the company with their Chapter 11 (e.g. restructuring) bankruptcy. Because of the help this company has (and is) receiving from the government, the government now owns 60 percent of General Motors. 60 percent! Man, the government is now in charge of one of the largest US companies! Times are changing aren’t they?

President Obama says the government is a “reluctant shareholder.” You know what? I can understand why he says that. Can you? I see it this way – and please correct me if I’m wrong – if General Motors would not have gone to the government for help, the government would have NEVER become involved with running the company. It’s really as simple as that. I mean, it’s not personal – it’s just business! This is not like the banks, who were pretty much forced to take help from the government – General Motors had the option of denying the monetary help from government! But they didn’t deny it. So now, the government owns 60 percent. Think about it like this, if you go to an outside source to obtain funds to run your business, isn’t it only natural that the outside source is going to want to protect their investment by having a say in how the business is managed? That’s just natural. Why would the government, who is giving tons of money at the expense of taxpayers, not expect to have some sort of managerial position within the company?

Now, I know some of you feel the government is becoming too involved in our lives. I mean, some members of the Republican party say it’s, “another sign of the administration’s deepening incursion into the private sector.” That may be true, but in this case, General Motors went to the government for help, it was not forced upon them. So, you gotta give something in order to get something, right? General Motors wants to save the company, at the expense of taxpayers. Hence, the government will help run the company, to protect the taxpayers investment. It’s as simple as that. Really.