Joe HonickGeneral Motors’ PR operation is hard at work following its CEO openly admitting the death and injury caused by its cars.

Americans and the world now know that in the US you can kill 100 people and hurt still more and nobody goes to jail.

What’s more, you can also learn to commit fraud in the process. If any of those who function in much smaller dimensions than this publicly rescued major corporation accused of criminal charges that included lying tried to do these numbers, the photos of handcuffed executives and lesser folks would be on the front pages, accompanied by tough commentary on the editorial page.

So how does it happen that nobody will be in the clink after not only being successfully probed for its crimes but openly confessing? Why is it that not one voice from either Republicans or Democrats is being raised to demand that the contributors to these deaths and frauds pay legitimately for their deeds?

In other words, what the hell is NOT going on here?

More than that, there seems to be a pattern of folks getting off with fines in huge sums while “settling” with the U.S. Government, using money that had to have come from investor or other funds since the corporation itself is only a mechanism used by fragile humans to make some money.

Ask Jamie Dimon about such things since he is a veteran of shelling out corporate money to “solve” his problems with our public prosecutors in ways you and I could never get away with so easily.

But not all of Wall Street’s shenanigans result in deaths of large numbers of people, though not infrequently we do read of some suicides.

In the case of GM, however, it’s been shown people damned well knew what was wrong and let it go by. In common parlance, that is not just fraud: it is murder or at the very least manslaughter.

In most places, you pay money to solve parking or speeding problems. Kill people, and it’s a different story and should be. Goodness knows we have a whole series of folks already convicted and only a matter of debate as to how their lives will be dispensed with.

It most have been forgotten that the American taxpayer once before rescued GM to the tune of billions and, yes, sure, we recouped the money, BUT, name some smaller bankrupted firm would have received this kind of treatment then or now.

The deal, as with most such disgusting deals, is now done. The only logical thing that must be done before it’s all once more forgotten is for Congress, where all sorts of elections races are underway, to demand candidates everywhere at least express some kind of something I cannot describe that will hold real people responsible in the good old fashioned legal ways for such slaughter.

* * *

Joe Honick is president of GMA International in Bainbridge Island, Wash.