Where is the justice in this?

[Dan Moadus]

GM declared bankruptcy, remember?

The "old" stock holders had ownership of over 90 billion dollars in debt.

Conservatives fought tooth and nail to let GM fail and let the investors lose their billions in investments, because that's what the almighty free market wanted.
And now that the government bailout and restructuring of GM has proved successful, you think that those who made a poor free market investment should be rewarded for supporting a failed company?

You can't have it both ways.

You say the old stock holders had ownership of over 90 billion dollars in debt, so tell us, what exactly happened to that debt? Do you think it's alright to just erase it, and screw the creditors?  Then you ask, "should those who made a poor free market investment in a failed company be rewarded?" Please tell us who you think should be rewarded, and who exactly was rewarded?

And so, you think the bailout and restructuring was successful. Perhaps you're jumping the gun a bit.

[Dan Moadus]

GM was a publicly owned company; owned by the stock holders. They saw the stock go from around $50 a share (just my guess) to $0. Even though the stock was virtually valueless didn't it still grant ownership rights to those who owned it?

I'm assuming through some action of the courts, they lost this ownership. Where is the justice in that, and why aren't the former (owners) screaming to high heaven?

Now GM uses the tax dollars of Americans, including those who owned the old stock, to reorganize the company. As a result of us bailing them out they are now returning to profitability and are able to sell new shares of stock.

In a "just" world the old stock holders would still own their portions of the company, and share in this new prosperity. It seems awful unfair for the people who put their faith in GM by investing in the company, to be excluded from its resurrection.