GM was not allowed to fail and then the government took ownership of the company. That's not all what happened:
On July 10, 2009, following Chapter 11 reorganization after an initial filing on June 8 2009,[25][26] the original General Motors sold assets and some subsidiaries to an entirely new company including the trademark General Motors. Liabilities were left with the original GM freeing the companies of many liabilites resulting in a new GM.
GM emerged from government backed Chapter 11 reorganization after an initial filing on June 8, 2009.[25][26] Through the Troubled Asset Relief Program the US Treasury invested $49.5 billion in General Motors and recovered $39 billion when it sold its shares on December 9, 2013 resulting in a loss of $10.3 billion. The Treasury invested an additional $17.2 billion into GM's former financing company, GMAC (now Ally). The shares in Ally were sold on December 18, 2014 for $19.6 billion netting $2.4 billion.[27][28] A study by the Center for Automotive Research found that the GM bailout saved 1.2 million jobs and preserved $34.9 billion in tax revenue.[29]
Also in 2009 General Motors of Canada Limited was not part of theGeneral Motors Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, the company shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac, and Hummer, while selling Saab Automobile to Dutch automaker Spyker, and emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, the reorganized GM made an initial public offering that was one of the world's top five largest IPOs to date, and returned to profitability later that year.[19][30][31]
The government did the same thing its doing now. Investing in companies on a short term basis to prop them up and allow them to continue to operate. Once the economy is stabilized, it will cash out its investment(s) like it did with GM.
What you are advocating for is not at all what occurred with GM.
I think what the person meant in spirit is aligned with what happened in practice — GM’s shareholders were wiped out and the government (through chapter 11 restructuring and investment) ensured it was a going concern and had a subsequent IPO (privitization) ..
GM was not allowed to fail and then the government took ownership of the company. That's not all what happened:
On July 10, 2009, following Chapter 11 reorganization after an initial filing on June 8 2009,[25][26] the original General Motors sold assets and some subsidiaries to an entirely new company including the trademark General Motors. Liabilities were left with the original GM freeing the companies of many liabilites resulting in a new GM.
GM emerged from government backed Chapter 11 reorganization after an initial filing on June 8, 2009.[25][26] Through the Troubled Asset Relief Program the US Treasury invested $49.5 billion in General Motors and recovered $39 billion when it sold its shares on December 9, 2013 resulting in a loss of $10.3 billion. The Treasury invested an additional $17.2 billion into GM's former financing company, GMAC (now Ally). The shares in Ally were sold on December 18, 2014 for $19.6 billion netting $2.4 billion.[27][28] A study by the Center for Automotive Research found that the GM bailout saved 1.2 million jobs and preserved $34.9 billion in tax revenue.[29]
Also in 2009 General Motors of Canada Limited was not part of theGeneral Motors Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, the company shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac, and Hummer, while selling Saab Automobile to Dutch automaker Spyker, and emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, the reorganized GM made an initial public offering that was one of the world's top five largest IPOs to date, and returned to profitability later that year.[19][30][31]
The government did the same thing its doing now. Investing in companies on a short term basis to prop them up and allow them to continue to operate. Once the economy is stabilized, it will cash out its investment(s) like it did with GM.
What you are advocating for is not at all what occurred with GM.