The Case for the Automaker Bridge-Loan

by Brad Peck

Over at the National Journal the U.S. Chamber's Bruce Josten lays out a comprehensive case for supporting the Big Three automakers. If there is any doubt in your mind, read the whole thing; I am just going to pull out numbers 4 and 5:

Fourth, the automotive industry is a critical sector of the U.S. economy with almost 4% of the U.S. gross domestic product and it is responsible for one in 10 American jobs that are related to automotive manufacturing. Manufacturing is critical to our nation's economic strength and security.

Fifth, bankruptcy today against the backdrop of a worsening economy could set off a cascade of bankruptcies among the industry’s part suppliers. The automotive parts supplier business has three times as many workers as the auto makers themselves. It is estimated that on average, auto dealerships employ 7.3% of a typical state's payroll, and 740,000 dealership jobs nationwide come from the Big Three. Automakers also are among the largest purchasers of U.S.-manufactured steel, aluminum, iron, copper, plastics, rubber, electronics, and computer chips.