Can I take my chances with GM?
03/30/09
From Obama's remarks today concerning the US government intervening in GM:
Because starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warrantee.
Despite being trading about 20% lower today (gee, I wonder why...), GM's market cap is still about $1.73 billion.
And here's the sum total of the US national debt:
Not to mention, thanks to our federal government's Enron-like methodology of bookkeeping...
The federal government keeps two sets of books.
The set the government promotes to the public has a healthier bottom line: a $318 billion deficit in 2005.
The set the government doesn't talk about is the audited financial statement produced by the government's accountants following standard accounting rules. It reports a more ominous financial picture: a $760 billion deficit for 2005. If Social Security and Medicare were included — as the board that sets accounting rules is considering — the federal deficit would have been $3.5 trillion.
...it's much more difficult to calculate just how horrendous our national financial status really is.
So... can I take my chances with GM? That strikes me as a much safer bet.