NY Times:
DETROIT — General Motors, which nearly collapsed from the weight of its debts two years ago before reorganizing in a government-sponsored bankruptcy, said Thursday that it earned $4.7 billion in 2010, the most in more than a decade.
It was the first profitable year since 2004 for G.M., which became publicly traded in November, ending a streak of losses totaling about $90 billion.
In addition, G.M. said 45,000 union workers would receive profit-sharing checks averaging $4,300, the most in the company’s history.
Guess who said this sort of turn around would be impossible? That's right, none other than John Boehner, in June of 2009:
Does anyone really believe that politicians and bureaucrats in Washington can successfully steer a multi-national corporation to economic viability?
Actually, yes, and these numbers prove it. But Boehner and teahadist Republicans look at what's happened and pout. They say government sucks, unions suck, G.M. sucks, and we should have just taught them all a lesson by letting them go out of business.
But everybody else looks at how things are turning out and say Democrats and the Obama administration made the right move by saving American auto manufacturing. And they did.