GM, after declaring bankruptcy, recently began implementing its restructuring plan. It will sell off its unprofitable brands, notably Hummer, and as part of the plan, about 60% will be controlled by the government. Close to 20% will be controlled by the UAW, and the remainder will be controlled by bondholders. Obama and the new GM executives are optimistic that this plan will help GM to return to dominance as a carmaker.

Having new management in charge of GM is promising. The past management failed to retool to sell fuel-efficient cars during high gas prices this summer, resolve conflicts with the UAW, and remain profitable despite nearly $20 billion in government bailouts. With the new management in place, the company is more willing to make decisions and cut costs to stay viable like Ford did, which is doing relatively well.

But based on the actions of the Obama administration, don’t expect GM to resurge anytime soon.

By taking a 60% stake in GM, the government is essentially taking control of the company, and forcing it to do the government’s bidding. This happened when Obama personally fired former GM CEO Rick Wagoner. True, Wagoner probably should have left, but it highlighted a scary trend of the government taking control of private industry. We also saw this when the administration cut Chrysler’s advertising budget by half. The move seems counter-intuitive; why cut money from a budget dedicated to getting people to buy the cars when the company is failing? All these moves seem to be are steps to total government control. And the last time the government ran businesses, the results were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The rest is history.

More disturbing, though, are the closure of GM and Chrysler dealerships. Contrary to popular belief, most dealerships are not owned by automakers, but rather licensed by them. Dealerships have to buy cars from the manufacturers, and do the dirty work of selling them. Forcing these dealerships to close only hurts the automakers, since cars can’t be sold to people. However, more frightening is that the administration is calling the shots for many of the closures. Some closures are the companies trying to cut losses, others are merely the actions of the government. Since these dealerships aren’t owned by the car companies or the government, what right does the administration have in forcing them to close down? And it begs the question-who’s next?

So now, with the GM restructuring plan moving ahead, there’s still some issues. Many provisions are important because of the past incompetence of GM management. However, many other provisions and actions seem like the government trying to expand and force its power upon people. Either way, it’s a long road ahead.