Isn't this what got us in Bailout Mode to start with?

[retiredarmy]

If I remember correctly wasn't it loaning money to people that could not afford it one of the reasons we the taxpayers had to pay for bailouts.

Then our illustrious leader went and basically purchased GM! Read the article below that was buried in the Tampa Tribune (better read it soon as it may just disappear like all negative articles). It appears WE are now in the loan business again and WE will be responsible for the debt incurred! Pols can say what they want but GM is doing whatever they want and be damned with those that paid for their survival!

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jul/22/221846/gm-to-pay-35b-for-auto-financing-company/

DETROIT - General Motors Co. will buy AmeriCredit Corp. for
$3.5 billion, a deal that will allow the automaker to expand loans to customers with poor credit and offer more leases, key areas where GM must grow to accelerate sales.

The acquisition of the independent auto financing company also means that GM, which is 61 percent owned by the U.S. government, is getting back into the business of making risky loans. GM said it advised the U.S. Treasury Department of the acquisition, although government approval was not required.
GM executives have said for months that they were missing sales opportunities because of a lack of credit for lease deals and financing for subprime buyers, those with credit scores below 620 on a 300- to 850-point scale. About 40 percent of U.S. customers have below prime credit scores, said Chris Liddell, GM's chief financial officer.

"Clearly there's an opportunity to bring more people into our showrooms and help them with finance," he said after the deal was announced Thursday.

Customers should expect more lease deals from GM, which gets just 7 percent of its sales from leases, compared with 21 percent for the industry, he said. Only 4 percent of GM's sales come from subprime buyers. Liddell said even a modest increase in subprime buyers to 5 percent would be significant. GM sold just over 1 million vehicles in the United States during the first half of the year.

Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc., the largest auto dealership chain in the United States, said he was thrilled with the acquisition because it will help his dealers increase sales.

"This is a big strategic deal for General Motors. They absolutely needed to add this segment of the market to meet the needs of the customers coming into our dealerships," he said.

The deal will allow AmeriCredit to expand into more GM dealerships while continuing to offer financing to the 11,000-plus U.S. dealerships it already serves.