Government Motors

Americans were skeptical about bailing out the auto companies when their troubles became widely known last fall. Most polls in November and early December 2008 show that the majority opposed giving them major financial assistance. In a mid-December question from CNN/Opinion Research Corporation, 28 percent said the federal government should give the auto companies additional assistance, but 70 percent said the government should let them go into bankruptcy.

The public remains strongly opposed. When told by Gallup that the U.S. government “is investing $50 billion in General Motors and will own 60 percent of that company when General Motors emerges from bankruptcy,” 41 percent of Americans approved of the government actions, but 55 percent opposed them. In all regions except the Midwest, opinion tilted strongly against the government’s actions. In the Midwest, opinion was divided, with 46 percent of respondents approving of the government’s actions and 50 percent disapproving.

Source: The Gallup Organization, June 2009.