6 in 10 polled say "No" to auto bailout

Since the initial bank bailout several people, states, institutions, and industries have come knocking on Congress's door for their fair share of the pie. Now, we warned people about this. We agreed with the initial bailout to the banks because of their ties. They were tied to a lot of businesses, and the bad mortgages they gave out were dragging them down. We're not fans of bailing out badly managed companies, but the banks were an exception. The last thing we needed was a run on any banks as the markets continued their downward spiral. But John McCormick at the Weekly Standard's blog points to a new survey conducted that shows most people don't want the Big Three bailed out:

From CNN:

A new national poll suggests that six in 10 Americans oppose using taxpayer money to help the ailing major U.S. auto companies.

Sixty-one percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Wednesday are dead set against the federal government providing billions of dollars in assistance to the automakers, while 36 percent favor such a bailout.

The poll, conducted Monday and Tuesday, also indicates that a majority of Americans, 53 percent, don't think government assistance for the automakers would help the U.S. economy.

"Only 15 percent say that they would be immediately affected if the auto companies went bankrupt," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Seven in 10 say that a bailout would be unfair to American taxpayers."

And we're with the people on this issue. The Big Three, through bad management and capitulation to the Unions have brought this on themselves. And it doesn't help that fools like Barney Frank think that the government should bail them out by taking a portion of this industry.

The easiest solution to this is that the Big Three should file Chapter 11, dissolve the union contracts and renegotiate them, and liquidate any assets and holdings they have as they restructure their companies. By bailing them out directly the Congress would be rewarding bad management. The other option, a loan from the government, might be feasible, but we're still against even that. Chapter 11 is the better course, and it won't put the taxpayer on the hook for the bill.

Publius II