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Comment by labrador | Hacker News Reader

It's funny how Bitcoin advocates say "widen the chart" to point to the rise since 2012, like that's the slope it will keep rising at. Sure, if my great-grandfather bought General Motors in 1908 I might be filthy rich now, but does that make GM a good investment today?

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No need to go until 2012, Bitcoin price has been above current price for only like 6 months in it's whole existence. So if you bought at anytime outside of those 6 months, you're in the green.

There are plenty of investors who believe dumping your money into a stable company like GM would be better than speculative startups like Tesla or Rivian...isn't this typical risk-averse advice? The status quo is that GM is a good investment. They're probably not going bankrupt tomorrow.

> The status quo is that GM is a good investment. They're probably not going bankrupt tomorrow.

Well:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Chapter_11_reor...

* https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-gm-treasury-idUSBRE...

* https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/loans-canada-account-financ...

I guess I'll rephrase and say that they're probably not ending tomorrow, because of the historical precedent the Fed set when they bailed them out. What's a few hundred billion dollars between friends?

The Fed did not bail them, Congress did. As did the Canadian government (and not the Bank of Canada).

Politicians decided that GM going bankrupt would be too disruptive, especially since it occurred during the already turmoil-filled 2008-2009 timeframe.

Technically, the -2008 General Motors doesn't legally exist anymore, all the assets (including brand) were transferred to the restructured org.

>Sure, if my great-grandfather bought General Motors in 1908 I might be filthy rich now.

Heh, you'd actually have been wiped out in 2009.

How much did GM pay in dividends between 1908 and 2009?

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