[TheLucyLee]

The GM lifeline has paid off in many ways. Letting GM die would have taken down an estimated million jobs with suppliers unable to survive without GM business, and that would have idled Ford and the U.S. Toyota and Nissan plants, resulting in shutdowns and more layoffs.

Our investment in GM prevented all that, much to the chagrin of a few folks who know very little about how the economy works.

LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/business/auto...,4017377.story

Taxpayers bailed out much of the U.S. auto industry. Now the carmakers might be what saves the nation's economy from falling back into recession.

After a massive restructuring and several high-profile bankruptcies, a leaner, more aggressive auto industry is making a comeback, hiring workers and ramping up manufacturing plants. From a trough two years ago, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., Chrysler Group and other auto companies have added almost 90,000 manufacturing jobs, a 14% increase, according to federal employment data.

Job growth in Michigan, which was devastated by the downturn, is even more robust. That's why Michigan's jobless rate stood at 10.9% in July, well below the 12% rate of California.

...

Including factories, suppliers and dealers, the U.S. auto industry employs about 1.7 million workers and supports an additional 6.3 million private-sector jobs, according to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. The center said those positions represent more than $500 billion in annual compensation and more than $70 billion in personal tax revenue.

Auto sales peaked at about 17 million in 2000 and held near that level until 2007 before crashing to just 10.4 million two years later. They were heading back into the 13-million range — helped by a wave of new models, low interest rates and improving consumer confidence — only to be upended by the Japanese earthquake in March.