Despite the assumption by most Americans that automakers should be allowed to fail if they are unable to meet their financial obligations; the fact is that failure of the United States Automakers would be catastrophic to the economy of the United States, to the average consumer, and even to national security. While on first glance, it appears that the Whitehouse plan to bail out automakers is dimwitted and a ploy to make rich men richer, the facts run contrary to that opinion. .
Automakers employ or cause employments for workers of every description. In addition to manufacturing new cars, the auto manufacturers, directly or indirectly create jobs for dealers, salesmen, secretaries, parts manufacturing, service personnel, tire manufactures, and tire sales people and more. It's more than a business. It's a system of interrelated business, each affected by the success or failure of the other. In short, allowing any piece of the machine to fail would bring the United States Economy to a screeching halt. .
On a consumer level, automakers need the money, not to make cars, but to sell them. The big three automakers make more money in their financing departments than they do from the sale of vehicles. While some might suggest letting the banks take up the slack, the fact is that banks don't have the funding to factor enough money to front money for every type of loan offered to every consumer. Banks are more than happy to pick up the occasional auto loan, but were they to do be forced to take on every auto loan the banks would be forced to deny more loans, making it impossible for most consumers to live their American dreams. .
The United States Automakers provides vehicles (albeit for a price) for all of the United States Armed Forces, and every branch of government at every level. Sometimes, rich and powerful nations need to go to war, and sometimes those wars are unpopular. In 1941, the United States went to war with Japan, and while it's unlikely that will ever be the case again, the results of having vehicle manufacturing outsourced to Japan in 1941, as would likely be the case if the big three U.