Rasmussen: 59% View Auto Bailouts As a Failure

Some 59 percent of Americans consider the government bailouts of GM and Chrysler a failure, a new Rasmussen Reports poll showed.

“Voters have consistently opposed the bailouts in regular surveys since February 2009, although they have been more critical of the bailouts of the financial sector,” Rasmussen wrote. “Earlier this month, though, 44 percent of voters said the auto bailouts were good for America. By contrast, just 26 percent thought they were a good idea in April 2009.

“Undoubtedly, these numbers have been moved in part by the growing belief that the money is being repaid. In January 2010, only 36 percent of voters thought it was at least somewhat likely that the government would get its money back. By February of last year, 52 percent of Americans shared that belief. But by June, a GM payback was considered much more likely than one from Chrysler.”

The federal government, according to official estimates, is expected to lose tens of billions of dollars on the auto bailouts.

Rasmussen surveyed 1,000 Americans April 23 to 24, 2012. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.