Warren Mayor Jim Fouts and many of the GM “Main Street” bondholders came together yesterday to launch a coalition to demand a voice in GM bankruptcy talks with the Obama Administration.
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The GM “Main Street” Bondholders Coalition, a project of The 60 Plus Association, said it works to give a voice to small investors who do not have the same resources as Wall Street investors.
“We are here today to hear from the silent sufferers, Main Street America, the small bondholders who stand to lose the most,” Mayor Jim Fouts said. “The treatment of the small bondholders is fundamentally un-American. These bondholders are seniors and retirees that risked their life savings and our now left out in the cold. GM’s bankruptcy will truly hurt everyone.”
“I oppose a bankruptcy because it would be devastating to my city, my state, and my country. Small bondholders feel like they don’t have a voice in this debate and we’re here today to hear their stories and other average Americans’ that have played by the rules and invested in GM during their financial peak.”
60 Plus, an advocacy group for senior citizens which has more than 5.5m supporters nationally says it has received hundreds of emails from individuals worried about a potential GM bankruptcy and its impact on their retirement savings.
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By GlobalData“While we are sympathetic to all parties in this negotiation, our government should also be sympathetic to small investors who may have invested their entire life savings in the General Motors Corporation,” 60 Plus Vice President Amy Noone Frederick said. “Small investors are financing their retirements, school payments for their children, medical expenses, and other critical needs with bonds purchased from the icon of corporate America, GM. Actually, these negotiations are a real slap in the face to soon to be retirees and seniors who will receive next to nothing in the proposed settlement.”
Almost a quarter of GM bondholders are average citizens that stand to get wiped out if GM enters bankruptcy proceedings, 60 Plus said.
“We’re not Wall Street, we’re Main Street,” Chris, an electrician and home inspector from Colorado, said. “I’m not a bank that can rebound from a significant loss of revenue, where’s my bailout? If the Obama Administration isn’t looking out for us, who is? A General Motors bankruptcy will permanently change our futures and we deserve to be heard on such a life-changing matter.”
“We stand to lose if an equitable solution isn’t reached that takes people like us into consideration,” GM Small Bondholders Marilyn and Ralph said. “We feel like Washington is leaving us behind by not including us in the decision-making process and essentially driving GM into the ground.”
“GM needs to avoid bankruptcy at all costs and the Auto Taskforce should reconsider their position with all parties involved,” Small Bondholders Clifford and Patricia said. “I [Clifford] spent many years with Chrysler and have a lot invested in the financial future of GM. Small GM bondholders account for $8-10 billion and represent hundreds of thousands of Americans. It is necessary that small bondholders have a say in the negotiations.”
“A significant portion of my retirement savings is in GM bonds and I don’t have the option of investing elsewhere,” Small Bondholder Dennis said. “The collapse of GM will not only affect the company and its workers, but my future financial plans will be wiped out too.”
