US loses over $10 billion on sell off of remaining GM stock

U.S. taxpayers no longer own any of automaker General Motors as the Treasury sold the last of its remaining 31.1 million GM shares Monday, incurring a massive loss for taxpayers.

The taxpayer loss on the GM bailout finishes at $10.5 billion.

The Treasury department said it recovered $39 billion from selling its GM stock, and had put $49.5 billion of taxpayer money into the GM bailout. The Obama administration still defends the loss stating that the loss it took on GM shares is far less constly than had GM been allowed to fail.

“Inaction could have cost the broader economy more than one million jobs, billions in lost personal savings, and significantly reduced economic production,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement announcing that Treasury had sold all its remaining shares.

A statement from CEO Dan Akerson today played down the final sale of shares. “The U.S. Treasury’s ownership exit closes just one chapter in GM’s ongoing turnaround story. We will always be grateful for the second chance extended to us, and we are doing our best to make the most of it.”

Ammann said, “I don’t think there’s anything fundamental that changes” at GM. He said that there has been “no operating involvement” from the Treasury. “We have been running the business for all the shareholders.”

On March 30, 2009, the president of the United States told an anxious nation: “Let me be clear: The United States government has no interest in running G.M.”

No, the cost of the experiment was over $10 billion.

photo 401(K) 2012 via Flickr