Details of a survey released by polling group R.L. Polk has revealed that 61 percent of Americans would object to the US Government offering further financial aid to floundering carmakers GM and Chrysler.
The number against might have been higher if not for the states in the Great Lakes region of the US being so closely tied to the fortunes of the auto industry.
Some 16 percent of respondents in the region said they “strongly agreed” with the provision of further government aid, while only four percent of the residents of New England – far removed from the auto industry states – offered the same response.
Above: GM and Chrysler CEOs Rick Wagoner (left) and Bob Nardelli
Polk analyst Lonnie Miller said that the results show that most American citizens agree “it’s a problem, but it’s not a problem for tax-payers [to pay for].”
The sentiment of the public isn’t lost on US President Barack Obama, who told 60 Minutes (the US version) this weekend that “the only thing less popular than putting money into banks is putting money into the auto industry”.
The survey news follows a recent interview with US Treasury auto adviser Steve Rattner, who described GM’s and Chrysler’s turnaround plans as “optimistic” and “somewhat ambitious,” saying that both companies may need “considerably” larger loans to stay afloat.
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I totally agree………no more money should be given to these inefficient companies. GM especially doesnt deserve it because it had chances to fix things and did nothing about it……..goodbye GM
Write your congressman! The Detroit Big 3 (Who are fronts for the oil companies), the banks (Who conduit the oil company money) and AIG (who keeps the oil companies protected) were handed “money in a sack” within a few days with no questions asked, no application, no budget, no use-of-funds proposal, and no review process but the alternative energy people, ie: wind, solar and electric cars; must pay massive fees, file thousands of pages of paper and wait years to see if they MIGHT get some money. It seems as if there is an intentional program going on to delay alternative energy. Already, multiple solar companies that were waiting for that money have been forced to go out of business by the delay and most of the electric car companies are going to die soon too.