As I was opening my mail yesterday I discovered a rather ominous looking envelope from the United States Bankruptcy court which upon opening included some rather more ominous looking “orders” that I was to follow to the letter, or else…..

Letter from Court

Beyond being completely dumbfounded by the jargon describing what I was supposedly being ordered to do, or not to do, it struck me for the first time that as an owner of a few hundred shares of GM stock I have some responsibility for the direction the company took and the casualties of this economic disaster.

I bought the shares about a year ago, so I can’t take responsibility for the decades of mistakes the company has made, but nonwithstanding the forgoing (since I’m totally into legalese right now), I do think that as an owner of GM I owe a lot of people an apology. So here’s something you probably won’t hear from any GM executives or board members, but wouldn’t it be great if any of them were willing to chime in and join me in this apology?

To the world, and certain specific groups mentioned below:

• I’m sorry that GM failed to develop transportation that people and the planet needed, instead focusing on short-term profits and selfish foolishness, building SUVs and trucks which GM then had to use image-marketing to convince people that they wanted.
• I’m sorry that tens of thousands of people are losing their jobs because GM made so many BAD decisions over the years.
• I’m sorry for blaming some of the victims (the autoworkers) for the woes caused by management.
• I’m sorry for deciding not to pay the tens of billions of dollars GM owes to companies large and tiny and individuals who sold GM parts, did labor for GM, loaned GM money, all doing so because they trusted one of the largest companies on the planet to pay its debts.
• I’m sorry that tens of thousands of retirees are going to bed at night worrying that their pensions and health care could stop at any moment.
• I’m sorry that dealerships that have been lovingly run by families for generations and which have been pillars of their communities are being dismantled without notice and without, it seems, a tear being shed by those who remain in charge of GM.
• I’m sorry that millions of individuals and countless pension funds have seen their GM stock turn into worthless virtual paper.
• I’m sorry that stockholders in America, more often than not, just think of our stocks as investments, and don’t realize that as owners of the companies we have a responsibility to our families, our communities, the employees of those companies, our nation, and the world to monitor what OUR companies are doing and voice our feelings and demand change when we believe the companies are on the wrong track.

My GM stock, best I can tell, is worthless now and if I understand the order from the Bankruptcy Court of the United States, I’m not allowed to do anything with the shares which, for the moment, still appear in my portfolio. The court didn’t order me not to talk though, thus this post.

What do you think? What stocks do you own? Do you even know? If you have a pension fund, a mutual fund, or your own stock portfolio, are the companies you OWN doing good by you, your community, our nation and world? If not, what’s your responsibility?

OK – Now I’ve got to get cracking on my letter to Krispy Kreme’s board of directors…… we need some low fat donuts, don’t you think?