Loan Bailout or Give-Away Bailout?

At the end of President G.W. Bush’s term, the Big 3 US automakers got loans from and sold equity to the US Government for $80.7 billion dollars. The loans were paid back, but “we” lost money when the stake in the automakers was sold. The loss was just over $10 billion.

And a lot of Republican legislators cried foul over the bailout.

Here we are 10 years later, and it’s not because of economic troubles that another bailout is being given. The US government induced this problem: the agricultural industries are being hit hard because of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs started in 2017. So far, the ‘bailout’ moneys have totaled $28 billion, and more promised in 2020. Some have reported losing 75% per acre. Others 33%. It seems most farmers are hoping for markets to be opened rather than bailouts.