I've been asked by friends to explain my general approval for President Obama's performance during his first 20 months in office. I'll honor those requests over the next few days, one element at a time. I'll include links you can follow to the supporting documentation and, where appropriate, financial figures. And there's a thoughtful overview by Tom Dickinson in the October 28 issue of Rolling Stone.
Auto Industry Bailout
I had my doubts, but the plan to rescue the Big Three US auto companies initiated with TARP funds by President Bush at the end of his administration and refined and sustained by President Obama in the opening months of 2009 now looks far more like an investment than a bailout.
E.J. Dionne's piece for NPR in August 2010 covers the story reasonably well.
And here's the March 2009 White House Fact Sheet outlining the plan.
In addition to a million US jobs saved and tens of thousands of new jobs created or restored as the auto companies began to regain stability, as of September 30 2010 Chrysler and GM had paid back $11 billion of the $80 billion disbursed from the Troubled Asset Relief Program with profit to the American people of $2.6 billion.
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