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  3. The Government s Aggressive Dealings with U.S. Automakers In theory, a government bailout should provide a short-term infusi

The Government s Aggressive Dealings with U.S. Automakers In theory, a government bailout should provide a short-term infusi

admin2013-06-05  60
问题             The Government s Aggressive Dealings with U.S. Automakers
    In theory, a government bailout should provide a short-term infusion of cash to give a struggling company the chance to right itself. But in its aggressive dealings with U.S. automakers, most recently General Motors, the Obama administration is coming dangerously close to engaging in financial engineering that ignores basic principles of fairness and economic realities to achieve political goals.
    It is now clear that there is no real difference between the government and GM. For all intents and purposes, the government, which is set to assume a 50 percent equity stake in the company, is GM, and it has been calling the shots in negotiations with creditors. While the Obama administration has been playing hardball with bondholders, it has been more than happy to play nice with the United Auto-Workers (UAW). How else to explain why a retiree health-care fund controlled by the UAW is going to get a 39 percent equity stake in GM for its remaining $ 10 billion in Claims while bondholders are being pressured to take a 10 percent stake for their $ 27 billion? it’s highly unlikely that the auto industry professionals at GM would have reached such a deal if the government had not been watching them or providing the money needed to keep the factory doors open.
    GM is widely expected to file for bankruptcy before the end of this month. If this were a typical bankruptcy, the company would be allowed by law to tear up its UAW collective bargaining agreement and negotiate for drastically reduced wages and benefits. Surely, the government won’t let that happen. Still, the threat of a contract abolition probably played a role in the union’s agreement to cost-cutting measures last week, it’s never easy for unions to make concessions, but the sting of handing back money is being softened by the government’s desire to give the union a huge ownership stake in GM.
    The administration argues that it could not risk alienating the union for fear of triggering a strike that could permanently cripple GM. It also assumes that it had to agree to protect suppliers and fund warranties in order to preserve jobs and reassure potential buyers that their cars would be serviced. These are legitimate concerns. But it’s too bad that the Obama administration has not thought more deeply about how its bullying of bondholders could convince future investors that the last thing they want to do is put money into any company that the government has—or could—become involved in.
It can be inferred from Para. 3 that the UAW gives top priority to______.
选项 A、taking its ownership stake in GM
B、enlarging the retiree health-care fund
C、raising workers’ wages and benefits
D、validating the contract with GM
答案D
解析 推理判断题。属段落细节推断。原文提到“废除合同的威胁很可能促成了工会在上周同意了有关降低成本的措施。”因为工人联合会担心协议被撕毁将一无所得，所以才同意了有关降低成本的措施。由此可见，他们最希望的就是能够保全之前与公司签订的协议，故D项正确。A项并非top priority，仅仅soften the sting；B项“扩充退休人员的医保基金”未在此处提及；C项welfare and benefits并未提及。
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