Even as the White House and Congress put the finishing touches on a $15 billion rescue package for the Big Three automakers, 53% of U.S. voters say they oppose taxpayer-funded loans to help keep General Motors, Ford and Chrysler in business.

Twenty-eight percent (28%) of voters support loans for the automakers, and 19% are undecided, according to a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Saturday and Sunday nights.

Fifty-four percent (54%) of investors oppose the loans, while 29% favor them. The numbers are nearly identical for non-investors.

The Rasmussen Investor Index, which measures investor confidence on a daily basis, regained some ground on Tuesday but is still barely above its lowest levels ever recorded.

Despite highly publicized pleas to Congress for help from the heads of the Big Three last week, the latest survey numbers are virtually unchanged from late November when 55% of Americans opposed taxpayer-funded loans to help the automakers. Only 26% supported loans to General Motors, Chrysler and Ford.
But voters are clearly more sympathetic to the automakers than they were a month ago.

In mid-November, 48% said it was better for the economy to let companies like General Motors fail, while 35% said it was better for the federal government to provide subsidies to keep them in business. Seventeen percent (17%) were undecided.

Now voters are evenly divided on which is better for the economy – to let the companies fail (40%) or to provide them with federal subsidies (41%). Nearly one-out-of-five (19%) aren’t sure which is the best course to follow.

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The rescue plan now begin negotiated would make $15 billion in taxpayer-backed loans available to the automakers at the discretion of a new “auto czar” named by President Bush in exchange for extensive federal oversight of their operations. Only General Motors and Chrysler are expected to take the loans since Ford says it doesn’t have short-term cash flow problems like the other two companies.

At 2 p.m. Eastern today, Rasmussen Reports will release new findings related to the bailout plan which many are characterizing as a near-nationalization of the U.S. auto industry.

Thirty-one percent (31%) of male voters support loans to help the Big Three, compared to 24% of women. Men are more opposed to the loans than women, too, by three percentage points.

Opposition is highest among men over the age of 40 (58%) and women under 40 (61%).

With Bush and the Democratic congressional leadership working together on a bailout plan, it’s interesting to note that there is little partisan divide on the question of loans. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Republicans support them, as do 33% of Democrats. Fifty-five percent (55%) of GOP voters and 49% of Democrats oppose the loans.

Among unaffiliated voters, the gap is far wider: 58% are against taxpayer-backed loans, while 19% favor them.

A plurality of male voters (48%) say it would be better for the economy to let companies like General Motors fail, compared to 32% of women. Forty-four percent (44%) of women say it would be better if the federal government provided subsidies to allow them to stay in business, and 38% of men agree.

The figures for men are largely unchanged from a month ago, but among women there’s been a dramatic turnaround. In mid-November, 45% of women favored letting the companies fail, while just 34% preferred subsidies.

On this question, the gap between the political parties is more evident. Forty-six percent (46%) of Republicans say it is better for the economy to let companies like GM fail, while 33% say subsidizing them is better. By contrast, only 30% of Democrats favor failure, and 57% prefer subsidies. Unaffiliated voters give failure the edge by 20 points.

Forty-six percent (46%) of investors say letting the companies fail is better for the economy, compared to 35% of non-investors. Subsidies for the automakers are more important for 40% of investors and 42% of non-investors. Last month 53% of investors felt failure was the better option for the economy.

Voters have far less sympathy for companies like Citigroup, the huge financial services group that was rescued with a major government bailout plan just before Thanksgiving. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of voters oppose taxpayer-backed loans to rescue other companies like Citigroup, while 15% support them. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of investors oppose loans to companies like Citigroup, but 15% disagree. Thirteen percent (13%) aren’t sure.

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