General Motors, the venerable American auto manufacturer which fell into bankruptcy and received substantial support from the US government, filed the initial papers for an IPO today, which will begin the process of allowing the Treasury Department to recoup some of its investment.

Remember this? “In the effort to reverse this lurch beyond the farthest left fringe of previous Democratic statist urges, individual Americans have a role to play. They have to say no to GM products and services until such time as the denationalization occurs,” said Hugh Hewitt.

Our love affair with our cars has also been fueled by the devious actions of a few major corporations. The once ubiquitous electric streetcar was driven into the ground by colloboration of Big Oil and Big Auto. It wasn’t a fair fight.

In short, even after the auto task force pulled off what I consider a least worst solution, I’m not convinced Rattner, at least, fully understands the market.

Workers and retirees have suspected for years that companies often use bankruptcy as an excuse to cheat retirees out of their promised benefits. Now, three unions say that’s exactly what the U.S. Treasury Department is doing to tens of thousands of General Motors (GM) retirees.