TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Representatives and Senators use GM to further their political interests.

“The best way to repay taxpayers is to run the business as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible,” Mr. Socia wrote. “Uncompetitive supplier agreements do not support this priority.”

Three days later, Rep. Rehberg called for a congressional hearing on the voided contract. GM, he said at the time, “ought to be subjected to the same rigorous oversight we exercise over any other government agency.”

“I was elected to represent the interests of Montana, not General Motors, which is something that GM should have considered before letting the federal government assume control of their company,” Rep. Rehberg said recently.

Rehberg is precisely right, but not in the way he thinks. GM, and other companies as well, should never have been bailed out, because this is precisely what happens. Government cannot help but use business for its own ends when it gets its hands on it.