Public still opposes bailout of auto companies

Washington Post:

Most Americans continue to oppose a government-backed rescue plan for Detroit's Big Three automakers as majorities blame the industry for its own problems and are unconvinced failure would hurt the economy, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Overall, 55 percent of those polled oppose the latest plan that Chrysler, Ford and General Motors executives pitched to Congress last week, on par with public opposition to earlier, pricier efforts. But with 42 percent support, the new request for up to $14 billion in emergency loans has more backers than previous proposals to secure up to $34 billion in loan guarantees.

But as with the earlier bids, those who strongly oppose the measure greatly outnumber those who are strongly supportive.

Opposition to the automaker bailout is fueled by the widespread perception that the companies themselves are responsible for their predicament, not the faltering economy. In the new poll, three-quarters of Americans said Detroit's woes are mainly the fault of its own management decisions, and a sizable majority of those who blame the front office object to government help.

Nor have Detroit's Big Three made significant progress persuading the public that bankruptcy proceedings would deepen the broader economic slowdown. Sixty percent said it would make no difference or would be good for the economy if one or more of the companies were forced to restructure under the protection of bankruptcy laws.

Democrats are among the most wary of the economic impact of failure, with 42 percent saying it would hurt the economy. They are more apt to advocate federal aid -- 52 percent support it, up from 42 percent support for previous versions of the rescue bill. But they, too, are deeply critical of company managers -- 72 percent fault Detroit's strategies, not the overall economy.

Republican opposition has grown stronger, with 69 percent now against the bailout, an increase of 12 points since chief executives from General Motors, Chrysler and Ford last appeared on Capitol Hill to plead their case. Half of all Republicans polled now strongly oppose the plan.

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About six in 10 of those in the South and West are opposed to the bailout, while those in the Northeast and Midwest, home to much of the affected manufacturing base, are split evenly on the idea.

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I blame the Democrats in Congress for the problems of the auto makers. They have been beating on them for years with mandates that drive up costs while at the same time they have been strangling the supply of energy to drive up the cost of transportation in hopes that would lead to increased prices and the turn to alternative magic sources of energy.

The Democrat carbon phobia was responsible for the run up in the cost of oil this year that caused the sales of the auto makers to tank. While they have given lip service to opening news areas for production, it is clear from Obama's appointments, that Democrats are not serious about domestic production and still have fantasies of magic energy replacing carbon and nuclear based energy which accounts for over 95 percent of our energy usage at this time.

Those that blame the auto companies are listening to the demonization of both parties and they are missing the significant gains the companies have made in the last 20 years. A full size Ford or Chevy pickup now gets better gas milage than most compact cars got 20 years ago. That is no small accomplishment.

I think it should also be noted that people are not buying foreign cars at this point either. The domictic producers were more vulnerable to the general downturn, because their costs structure is higher mainly because of deals with the unions which are no longer viable. At this point it appears that the union leadership will take it chances on having nothing rather than less.

It may be a bad bet, if this poll results holds. While Democrats may be more willing to bailout the union contracts, it is importatn to remember that Democrat core beliefs do not go much deeper than the lastest polling data, and if that is the case the unions are going to lose.