GM Deliberately Tried to Deceive Americans (Letter to the Editor)

The Examiner was right to criticize General Motors for falsely claiming in a recent TV ad campaign to have “repaid”—“in full”—what it received from taxpayers. GM’s claim was misleading because it used government bailout money to make this so-called repayment! Moreover, GM “repaid” only $6.7 billion of the $50 billion the government gave it. That’s why the Competitive Enterprise Institute just filed a fraud complaint against GM at the Federal Trade Commission. Since GM recently lost $4.3 billion, it was deceptive for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to claim the sham repayment proves that GM “is on a strong path to viability.” Some buyers have avoided GM cars because of anger over its costly taxpayer bailout or worries that the ailing car company may not be around to service warranties and provide parts. GM’s ads were designed to deceive them.