Mal: Look, the way board of directors members are selected in U.S. corporations is by vote of the stock holders. Those who have enough stock to equal a controlling interest in the company are the ones who determine who sits on the board.
Like in the case of Gen. Motors, the government would somehow have to aquire a controlling interest in a corporation in order to determine the composition of the board of directors. It cannot be done by Congress passing some law as in Germany, as you suggest. And so far, this has only been accomplished by the feds with companies on the verge of bankruptcy. A far cry from the current condition of Walmart.
Here's how it was done at General Motors: In December 2008, during the final days of the presidency of George W. Bush, the government approved a $17.4 billion loan to GM and Chrysler to keep the companies running. GM received $13.4 billion, but a few months later, the company said it needed more money. GM produced a survival plan that included cutting 47,000 jobs worldwide and closing five U.S. factories. In June 2009, President Barack Obama approved a bankruptcy deal that gave GM $30 billion. In exchange, the government took a 60 percent controlling stake in the company. As of late September, GM had repaid $6.7 billion. The remaining money was converted to a 61 percent ownership stake in GM plus $2.1 billion worth of preferred stock, The Associated Press reported.
Just stop now. Give up your socialist blather. Become a supporter of our U.S. system. Come over from the dark side.
