[95CobraR]

Originally Posted by SP01715

The Ford family would get payed nothing if they recieved government help because all their income comes from stock dividends. I think that is the main reason they are not accepting money.

Ford Motor Company (F) does not pay a stock dividend.

GM may soon have a new CEO: B. H. Obama.

The U.S. government is considering swapping some of the $13.4 billion it lent General Motors Corp. for ownership in a stripped-down version of the auto maker, a move it hopes will push the United Auto Workers union and bondholders to accept similar concessions, said people familiar with the matter.

Interim GM Chairman Kent Kresa said the company would welcome the government's willingness to let it pay off some of the loans with stock. "Certainly that would be helpful," he said in an interview Tuesday.

I am sure Pelosi, Waxman, and Reid would certainly have their company drop all of those gas hogs: Corvette, Camaro, and the G8. They would be replaced with cute little cars that have a 1.0L engine and can reach speeds up to 70 mph.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123972054506117179.html

But Ford Motor Co. has even more reason than the rest to resist. A Chapter 11 filing would put the Ford family on par with other shareholders, stripping its Class B shares of the super-voting power that gives the family control of the company.

Any trip into bankruptcy usually wipes out all stockholders. Stockholders are last in line at the bankruptcy court. They can not file a proof of claim (like a bondholder) as the can only file of proof of interest. Here:

An equity security holder is a holder of an equity security of the debtor. Examples of an equity security are a share in a corporation, an interest of a limited partner in a limited partnership, or a right to purchase, sell, or subscribe to a share, security, or interest of a share in a corporation or an interest in a limited partnership. 11 U.S.C. § 101(16), (17). An equity security holder may vote on the plan of reorganization and may file a proof of interest, rather than a proof of claim. A proof of interest is deemed filed for any interest that appears in the debtor's schedules, unless it is scheduled as disputed, contingent, or unliquidated. 11 U.S.C. § 1111. An equity security holder whose interest is not scheduled or scheduled as disputed, contingent, or unliquidated must file a proof of interest in order to be treated as a creditor for purposes of voting on the plan and distribution under it. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3003(c)(2). A properly filed proof of interest supersedes any scheduling of that interest. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3003(c)(4). Generally, most of the provisions that apply to proofs of claim, as discussed above, are also applicable to proofs of interest.

You may notice that Ford's market cap is $9.75B while GM's market cap is $1.1B.