A federal judge handed the Obama administration an important victory in its push to steer the automobile industry back to health Sunday, approving the sale of General Motors Corp.’s (OTC: GMGMQ) most profitable assets to a new government-run company.
Think about Michigan or about Ohio’s Mahoning Valley in the 1980s. Both were famous for industries that were world leaders in their time. Yet, once those industries decayed, large parts of both areas became wastelands of home foreclosures, crime and alcoholism.
Financial journalists, most of whom spend more time writing about derivatives than carburetors, have been scathing about the possibility of an auto industry bailout, even though they’ve happily accepted multiple bailouts for the financial sector.