Auto Bailout Has Detractors Back in Michigan, Too

The auto industry has driven Michigan’s economy since Henry Ford set up shop, but not all residents are sympathetic to Detroit’s plight, the New York Times reports. Unemployment runs high, and some wonder where the rescue was when their livelihoods were on the line. “The car companies saw the banks getting a bailout and said, ‘Oh, let’s go!’” one resident grumbles.

The state’s economy would get even worse without a rescue package for Detroit, most opponents agree, but some think it would only be a temporary fix—at a potentially ruinous long-term price. “A bailout will cause a snowballing effect,” said one laid-off construction manager, “and it’s way too scary how it will come back on all of us.” (More Michigan stories.)