How Many Times Are We Going To Bailout GMAC?

Will the third time be the charm?

Is $12.5 billion not enough?

GM's consumer financing arm wants another government bailout.

It's not doing too well, despite all the aid it has already received.

GM and Chrysler, two of America's big car companies, are not doing too well either and will be looking for another bailout.

I love living in bailout nation. Yay!

The New York Times reports:

GMAC, the troubled consumer finance company, is seeking billions of dollars in additional federal aid, a move that would be its third taxpayer bailout and could give the government a majority stake in the company, according to people briefed on the situation.

GMAC and Treasury Department officials have been locked in negotiations over how to structure the third bailout as it approaches a crucial deadline in early November for shoring up its finances. The government has injected $12.5 billion into the company and already owns about a 35 percent stake from a broader restructuring of General Motors, its onetime parent.

Any fresh injection of government money, or the conversion of its existing preferred shares into common stock, would give taxpayers a much larger — perhaps even a majority stake — in the company. The government’s investment in GMAC would vastly surpass its nearly 34 percent stake in Citigroup, and could reignite the public debate over the Obama administration’s role as a major investor in corporations.