The American Automotive Industry, once the envy of the world, is now reduced to just another government sponsored program. We know that the country is going through some extremely difficult economic times. Unemployment running nationally at 9.5% and Michigan's unemployment running closer to 15%, is it the responsibility of the federal government to bailout a failed industry? Is the $25 billion tax payer funded program the key to save the automotive industry in America? Can we, as a nation, afford to have the automotive industry fail? GM was once the largest privately run business in the world employing over 120,000 people. Ford employs 80,000 people; Chrysler has 66,000 employees and another 700,000 employees at the 14,000 dealerships across the country. That is over 1.6 million people directly employed by the American automotive industry. Can we afford to have this industry fail? I do not believe that in a free-market economy it is the responsibility of the Federal government to bailout an industry that has failed to adapt to the changes that are occurring across the world. Nor can we as a nation financially afford to bailout a failed industry. It appears that with the collapse of the automotive industry and the possibility of over one million people out of work, we would have a serious economic crisis in America. I do not believe that will be the case.

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