Car Makers in US / The federal bailout saved 1.5 million U.S. jobs a study finds

The federal bailout of General Motors Co, Chrysler and parts suppliers in 2009 saved 1.5 million U.S. jobs and preserved $105.3 billion in personal and social insurance tax collections, according to a study released on Monday.

The Bush and Obama administrations loaned the auto industry, including GM and Chrysler, which is now controlled by Italy’s Fiat, $80 billion to avoid the collapse of the industry that they felt would result in the loss of millions of U.S. jobs.

Critics of the bailout at the time had argued the companies should be allowed to fail and the industry that resulted from the aftermath would be stronger. Treasury officials have repeatedly said the bailout was not an investment meant to turn a profit, but a move to save U.S. jobs.

The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, estimated in its study that the bailout saved a lot of jobs, even crediting for a rebound of the industry in 2010 after the initial fallout.

“Two consecutive executive administrations in Washington decided in late 2008 and early 2009 that the consequences of the potential losses and outcomes to the U.S. economy … were worth avoiding through a federal intervention,” Sean McAlinden, the center’s chief economist, said in a statement.

“This peacetime intervention in the private sector by the U.S. government will be viewed as one of the most successful interventions in U.S. economic history,” said McAlinden, who wrote the study along with Debra Maranger Menk.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Auto bailout saved 1.5 million U.S. jobs -study | Reuters.