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"That's Not the American Way": Chrysler's Bailout and the Road to Ruin

Posted May 14, 2009 06:05pm EDT by Aaron Task in Investing, Recession, Banking, Autos

Chrysler's plan to close about 25% of its dealers is the natural outcome of a series of very unnatural events surrounding its bankruptcy, says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates.

Specifically, Davidowitz was speaking about how the Chrysler bankruptcy was "hijacked" by the Federal government, which allegedly threaten creditors "if they didn't go along with the fiasco of turning the company over to the unsecured lenders."

Barack Obama's plan is to "sustain the union" in an effort to secure future votes in five key Midwestern states, Davidowitz says, without hesitation. "We the taxpayers are bailing out the union [and] bailing out Chrysler, which is an inefficient company that shouldn't survive and can't survive in the long run, anyway."

More generally, the Chrysler saga is evidence of how "we keep putting more money into hopeless companies," he says. "That's not the American way. We let inefficient companies collapse and be replaced by more efficient companies. That's the only way this economy can work."

By propping up inefficient companies and keeping zombie banks alive, Davidowitz says "we are exactly on the same path as Japan," which is now two decades into its economic malaise.

But there's one key difference between the U.S. and Japan: While they had about $16 trillion in savings and a 19% savings rate when their bubble burst in 1989, the U.S. savings rate was negative a year ago, a now a relatively meager 4.2%.

"That's a big problem for the financial stability of the U.S.," says Davidowitz, who had a hard time envisioning an alternative to a very grim scenario for America: "With big government, mad borrowing, and not letting things fail, there's no way we can have [rising] living standards," he says.

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133 Comments

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 07:47PM EDT

This is contract law that Obama is sending his goons squad out (great training he got as a community organizer in Chicago.. that's what they are .. a shakedown organization along with ACORN)... he sends out his goons squad to get the SECURED DEBT to back off... Unbelievable... Obama is nothing more than a thug .. SECURED DEBT is NOT secured anymore.. UNBELIEVABLE... hope and change you bozo obama voters... hope and change

kenneth
kenneth - Thursday May 14, 2009 07:47PM EDT

If Chrysler had declared bankruptcy 6 or 8 mths ago, the shareholders of the other of the BIG 3 would be tearing their hair and wondering when the bottom was going to fall out and all 3 would soon go "belly-up". But when??? It would have been a question not easily answered. Would the BIG 3 ALL fail. That, and many other questions, would pave the way to where we are now. Kenneth G, Smith

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 07:50PM EDT

Yeah right Davidowitz, and you certainly ain't the American Way either. The Chrysler bankruptcy was and is a highly complex matter involving thousands of factors and considerations. Certainly there are many tradeoffs, but ultimatley it was/is a matter of what the least bad options. Just as one example, some of the so-called secured bond holders were vulture investors who purchased Chrysler bonds for perhaps as little as 10cents on the dollar on the junk bond market. They were offered 29cents on the dollar by the government. Furthermore bankruptcy is complex, the judge has absolute power, and the majority of the large secured creditors had already agreed to settle, so it is almost inconceivable that the bankruptcy judge and bankruptcy law would have allowed these other small secured bondholders to disrupt the other stakeholders anyway. Rambling mouthoffs like yourself do nothing, except misrepresent the big picture, and thereby make the situation even worse with your simplistic crap.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 07:53PM EDT

Another major war looming. Now Russia is willing to "do battle" for the oil under the ocean. How come they, the Russians cannot be saying we are almost ready with the next vehicular transportation

Cat_in_a_bank
Cat_in_a_bank - Thursday May 14, 2009 07:55PM EDT

American capitalism wants American worker to be competitive with the third world worker, it means to live in a carton box on two caps of rise a day. It’s interesting approach to high living standards, or maybe high living standards are for bailed out financial heads only? How do you expert those workers to spend-spend-spend to support economy. Chrysler is inefficient company. It can not efficiently throw out 90% of its workers to be able to shrink in response to burst of grown out of any reason production and consumption. Hard to expect any thinking person will not curse USA with its "way" after insane financial demand caused over production of houses, that caused huge damage to world forests and other resources, and the houses are put under bulldozer by the bailed out financial institutions now.

D
D - Thursday May 14, 2009 07:55PM EDT

Chrysler was robbed by a hedge fund taking it private. Now to say that the complicit creditors should be able to rob the company in bankrupcy - when its pension is not topped up - ridiculous !! I'm sorry, the Chrysler pension funds are the 1st in line. Secured creditors are 2nd in line. Stock holders are third. Everyone else (including management) should be fourth! And all you idiots who think otherwise, you're on the road to ruin if you think you can "dump" your employees on social security in this way !! Bush Capitalists need a spanking !! These Bush capital

siroptimistic
siroptimistic - Thursday May 14, 2009 07:58PM EDT

I like Howard, but I disagree with him here. No government in the world would let the large manufacturing base represented by GM and Chrysler to collapse. Forcing GM and Chrysler to restructure, and to become more effecient is the way to go. Howard forgets that GM and Chrysler can be restructured to become more effecient so that they can indeed survive. Why let more effecient foreign auto manufacturers come in and fill the vacuum left behind by GM and Chrysler? Howard is plain wrong here.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 07:59PM EDT

there's a lot of hate going on tonight

john
john - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:12PM EDT

They're all PsOS.. Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush....and all their minions oin Congress, Senate, etc. etc. All big govt Lawyer cronies who SCREWED Americans by allowing a country where a person could SUE Mcdonalds for them getting FAt!!? Sickening. This is the country where through incredibly good times ran deficits EVERY F*&ing year!!! why? gready politicians and lawyers! we have a rolls-royce medical system because of technology and defensive medicine, and noone with the guts to say: "It's too expensive to give you this care at age 65!!! Retirment should be age 75!!!! Now!!! maybe even 80!!!!

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:13PM EDT

Yahoo! Finance User, They can't produce cars that run on air because than another thouthand of American oil companies will need a bailout. :-D

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:14PM EDT

What are Bush Capitalists?

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:17PM EDT

What is a Bush Capitalist?

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:19PM EDT

john c - 1 word === spellcheck

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:24PM EDT

Next he will take away your guns so you will have no choice but to do what your great leader says!

Buster
Buster - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:26PM EDT

What is the real story with Chrysler? I thought it was a healthy company before the Daimler people took it over and ran it into the ground. People making lousy overpriced Wall Street carts should not be allowed to drive good companies into the ground. Were's 'Dr. Z?' US government could have nationalized the pension burdens and let GM and Chrysler get back to making real cars. And keep CEO's that spend too much time putting their face on advertisements away from US business.

Sammy
Sammy - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:28PM EDT

i work at a toyota dealership. people bought a few hybrids when gas was $4+/gallon. now you can't sell a hybrid. people just don't want them.

john
john - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:29PM EDT

task...i told you before, you go'tta get over the election.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:31PM EDT

Ok Guys!!!!!! Have you forgotten about the Chrysler bailout that occurred in the past????? I do believe it was called a Government loan and it was paid back. Where were you when that happened??? I will say this with some reservation, but it is done, now get over it and get on with your life. If you are not happy, find another country to live in.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:32PM EDT

There are about 5 morons who wrote up here.....the first about the electric cars...duh--read the SUV response...AND THE PEOPLE INCLUDING DAVIDOWITZ(who i dont like either--but who cares??) who are saying that EVERYTHING GOING ON is ANTI-CAPITALIST and OBAMA is a socialist thief ARE CORRECT!! HE is a socialist!! I saw it from a mile away and all i can say is I TOLD YOU SO! To all those idiots who voted for him based on social views and not the issues that are going to shape our country over the next 10-15 years. Socializing healthcare? I dont know where to begin.....its sad that only liberals who don't understand the facts are the only people who protest...because there should be americans across the country protesting the crimes that this administration is committing.

convert
convert - Thursday May 14, 2009 08:32PM EDT

we're all going to be farmers? great analogy...

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