WASHINGTON (AFP)--More than three-quarters of Americans think
the government should let ailing automakers General Motors Corp.
(GM) or Chrysler LLC go bankrupt instead of bailing out the firms,
according to a poll released Thursday.
About 76% of Americans think the federal government should let
the auto companies go bankrupt, according to the survey conducted
by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation.
The government pumped billions of dollars into GM and Chrysler
in recent months in a bid to keep the auto giants afloat. President
Barack Obama warned, however, that the two firms still could face
bankruptcy if they don't come up with viable plans to return to
profitability.
Since the auto crisis became headline news late last year, the
poll found the number of Americans who think the U.S. economy would
face a major crisis if the auto firms go bankrupt has declined.
In December, 66% of those surveyed said they thought the
companies were too big to let fail, compared with 47% now. A
majority - 55% - said they thought they wouldn't face any problems
at all in their own lives if the automakers went bust.
Only 37% of Americans said they would purchase a car from a
bankrupt company, although the figure jumped to 57% if the
government were to promise to stand behind the cars' warranty.
The survey, conducted between April 3-5, interviewed 1,023
Americans by telephone and has a margin of error of plus or minus
three percentage points.
GM and Chrysler have received a combined $17.4 billion in public
aid since December, and still are on the verge of collapse as the
world's largest economy suffers its second year of recession.
The Obama administration has demanded they submit viable
restructuring plans before further aid will be considered.