Ok, so I'm a little partial. My father works for one of these dealerships as a service manager. In the past months he's laid off people, has extended his hours, has taken pay cuts, and has lost commission from servicing vehicles, all of which have affected our family greatly. I know theres a lot of people out there that don't want tax money going to help these private companies, but do they realize the effect of these companies dying? Obviously theres the loss of jobs for the 3 million people employed under these companies, which is HUGE. Not to mention the effects on other people and companies that rely on these carmakers. It won't just affect one industry. It will have a rippling effect that will hit the entire country. Everyone's scared right now of this recession, and wondering when it will end... if these companies are not given some assistance... it will make this horrible time last a great deal longer. I agree, these companies do need restructuring, and higher ups should be cutting back and not getting those "retention bonuses," but remember its not just about those, its about the millions of hardworking people underneath. Of course the money shouldn't just be "given" to them. It should be loaned with stippulations. Without help, this will really hurt the entire country.