The auto industry is huge, no one is denying that. The effect of even one major automaker closing down would be a big hit to the economy, not only from jobs lost in that company, but from all the jobs lost in the industries that supply them.
If all of the big three shut down, nationwide, over 3,000,000 jobs would be lost. We have always thought of the auto industry as being based in Michigan, but in fact, suppliers are spread across 27 states. Over 1.1 percent of Ohio's work force would be put out of work, at a time when the state is already struggling.
This type of job loss would roughly double the unemployment rate, and surely send us into an economic spiral that would take decades to pull out of. .
Still reeling from the $700 million price tag of bailing out the banks, 61% of the American public does not want to bail out the auto industry, and no one is blaming them. The first checks written to the banking industry had no conditions attached, and were veritably squandered. After the public outcry, the reins were pulled in, but by then, the citizenry was already livid, and now they are not ready to take on any more debt for overpaid and irresponsible CEO's.
But would they really close down completely? That is the question on people's minds. The CEO's and the UAW paint a catastrophic picture, and while there would surely be job losses, it's not realistic to think that they all three companies would just up and close their doors.
Give them help, of course, but force them to make major changes in the way they do business. No more private planes, no more huge executive salaries, and wages would have to fall. The average auto worker makes over $130,000 a year in wages and benefits. That's outrageous in a country where a service worker makes on $10 an hour without benefits. If we bail these people out, they need to accept massive pay cuts, and the unions need to be barred from interfering.