General Motors, whose success and commercial interests were once seen as aligning perfectly with that of the US itself, announced its highest yearly profit in history, making $7.6 billion in 2011. An inaccurate but illustrative quote used to claim that “what’s good for GM is good for the country,” attesting to the strong US commitment to capitalism and industry.
The notion that GM and the US have common interests is truer than ever today, though in a different way than was originally suggested. Today the US owns 26.5% of the company as a result of the 2009 tax-backed bailout.
