Bailout Watch 302: 70% of Americans Oppose More Bailout Bucks

A new CNN/Opinion Research poll brings Detroit one of those good news/bad news deals. The survey of 1000 voters reveals that “63% of Americans said they supported the government’s automaker bailout unveiled Friday. But if the companies ask the government for any more money, 70% said Washington should let the companies enter bankruptcy rather than give them any additional assistance.” To paraphrase the Temptations, get ready, ’cause here it comes! Uncle Sugar is set to dole out an additional $4b, already promised under the terms of the deal. Not to mention the $25b retooling loans– which seem to have disappeared off the outrage radar. And when the final final reckoning arrives in March… “With the current credit situation, it has been very hard getting debtor protection financing, so any automaker bankruptcy would have to be assisted by the government,” said David Weiss, chief economist at Standard and Poor’s. “If one of them enters Chapter 11, they would still need government funding to avoid failing.” CNN dutifully reports that “Some analysts estimate that the cost of an auto bailout will eventually run as high as $125 billion.” MORE? You want MORE? And there’s a twist to this tale…

“94% [of respondents] think a bankruptcy of one or more of the U.S. automakers would cause problems for the economy. Fifty-one percent think those problems would be major, and 15% said it would cause an economic crisis.”

In other words, the average voter knows a Motown C11 would suck, but want The Big 2.8 to face the music anyway. Insensitivity and ignorant bias or, God forbid, common sense and principle? Hey! Guess where The Detroit News’ Daniel Howes stands on that one?

Danny cites a single email as proof that the crux of the matter is, was and will be pig-headed left coast elitists (and their ilk) who unfairly hold Detroit’s prior automotive sins against it. Howes sugar coats it, and exhorts the ailing American automakers to confront the magnitude of the problem, but the bottom line is between the lines: buyers outside fortress Detroit lacks understanding and compassion. Detroit as victim.

“A more contemporary understanding of Detroit’s new metal also would help, but that’s probably too much to expect when generalizations rooted in personal experience can suffice — and show Detroit, yet again, just how problematic its revival truly will be among fellow Americans.”