Report: GM Bailout Saved 1.2 Million Jobs

It’s no longer “government motors.” In the process of saving GM, 1.2 million jobs were saved and $34.9 billion in tax revenue was preserved.

That bailout involved about $51 billion in taxpayer funds overall — with $49.5 billion going into GM directly for what was originally a 60.8% equity stake in the company. The Treasury Department said late today that it recouped $39 billion from the sale of that stake, for a loss of $10 billion.

Here is an analysis by 24/7 Wall St. of the report on bailout benefits in jobs and taxes:

In a new report released Monday, the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) reckons that the federal government bailout of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) saved 1.2 million U.S. jobs and preserved $34.9 billion in personal income and social insurance (Social Security, Medicare) payments. The bulk of those jobs and tax payments would have been lost in 2009 and 2010 and would have recovered (mostly) by now without federal intervention, but the U.S. auto industry would look considerably different had both GM and Chrysler been allowed to go under.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.