As the Covid-19 pandemic cripples airlines worldwide, Boeing is seeking billions in government handouts to weather the storm, but netizens insisted it would only reward years of mismanagement and fatally defective aircraft.
Despite spending the last seven years shoveling tens of billions into a share repurchase initiative to beef up its stock price – driven in part by a $9 billion bailout on the heels of the 2008 financial meltdown – Boeing shares have plunged 57 percent in March alone. Now, as the global travel industry hits rock bottom amid the coronavirus scare, Boeing is looking for “tens of billions” in government loan guarantees, according to Reuters – in other words: another bailout.
While US President Donald Trump appears ready to fulfill the request, saying on Tuesday “We have to absolutely help Boeing,” many online were up in arms over the multi-billion dollar ask, insisting the company is undeserving of aid after borrowing and blowing billions to prop up its stocks.
“Thanks to the Fed's artificially low interest rates, Boeing borrowed billions to buy back its own overpriced stock,”wrote market analyst Peter Schiff. “Now it's seeking a federal bailout to avoid selling that stock at a loss. Since the Republicans are Democratic Socialist too, Boeing's bailout is likely in the bag.”
Critics also noted that problems with Boeing’s ill-fated 737 Max airliner – involved in a series of fatal crashes last year that left 346 people dead – remain unresolved, arguing the company shouldn’t receive a penny in “corporate welfare” after such catastrophic negligence.
“NO bailout for Boeing! Their incompetence brought this on. Help people first over corporations,” one user said.
“Why should we, the tax paying public, reward them for one huge mistake after another?” another commenter asked. “The 737 MAX isn't back in service and the KC-46 is incredibly late and over budget. Stop corporate welfare!”
Recalling the ‘too big to fail’ rhetoric bandied about during the 2008 recession – which helped justify massive bailouts for banks and auto companies like GM, who turned around and rewarded executives with fat bonuses – some drew comparisons to Boeing, suggesting it, too, would line the pockets of executives with US tax dollars.
Boeing isn’t the only one looking for handouts as the coronavirus pandemic tanks the economy, with major US airlines also seeking a $50 billion aid package from the government, divided evenly between grants and loans, as well as tax relief and another $8 billion for cargo carriers.
Also on rt.com The global economy was deathly sick long before now, but Covid-19 will take the blame if it crashesWhile the government has promised financial aid for sickened or quarantined workers for the duration of the health crisis, relief efforts for corporations – including bloated and endemically mismanaged ones like Boeing – will likely dwarf those intended for the average person. As some of America’s biggest firms are pampered with state largess to see the pandemic through, workers may be largely left to fend for themselves.
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