Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Quick, turn off your porch light….



Your neighbour knocks on your door, says he’d like you to loan him some money to buy a car, but doubts that he’ll ever be able to pay you back… and hey by the way he says, I’m declaring bankruptcy.....
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So what do you do, you reach for the cheque book…
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That seems to be the situation when it comes to the province of Ontario and the Federal Government with their recent contributions to the Chrysler rescue fund, about $1.45-billion in taxpayer funded financing, which a New York court was told today probably will never be repaid.

Of course we’re not alone; the other folks with money on the block, the US government also contributed a sizable amount of funding to the Chrysler plan, over 4 billion dollars in assistance that likewise is apparently going, going, gone into the black hole of the auto maker’s debts and operating costs.

The revelations came about during a rather fascinating court room session which at one time saw Chrysler officials hoping to keep all the details out of the media’s grasp, what with the idea that money lent is apparently money gone.

Chrysler is working its way through the bankruptcy process in the hope that at the end of the paper trail will be a financial saviour in the form of Fiat who will pick up the newly reorganized auto company and turn the sow’s ear into a purse of gold, a purse that won’t have any loose change for the governments of North America, nor a return on investment for those taxpayers that actually follow their money after tax deadline day.

Up next on your doorstep, General Motors who like Chrysler will be looking for their own financial stake money, which we suspect will follow the Chrysler template of money coming in, but none coming back.

Then again, as is the case when other unwanted callers arrive on your doorstep, perhaps North America might decide that it’s time to turn off the lights, pull down the shades and not answer the door. It certainly would be a bit easier on the wallet…

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