Nearly half of U.S. voters (48%) say it is better for the economy to let companies like General Motors fail rather than providing government subsidies to keep them in business.
Thirty-five percent (35%) believe it’s better to subsidize their continued existence, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided.

Sixty-four percent (64%) of Republicans and 60% of unaffiliated voters say it’s better to let troubled companies like GM fail, compared to 26% of Democrats. Fifty percent (50%) of Democrats think it’s better to subsidize them, but just one-quarter of GOP and unaffiliated voters agree.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of investors say it is better to let companies like GM fail, compared to 38% of non-investors.

In a survey last week, 46% of Americans opposed a government bailout for the Big Three automakers.

Just 28% say the best course for the U.S. economy is for Congress now to pass a new economic stimulus plan that includes money for the financially stumbling Big Three automakers. The House and Senate came back into session this week to consider such a plan, but additional aid for the automakers appears unlikely.

Another 27% say Congress should wait on any economic stimulus plan until Barack Obama becomes president on January 20. At that time, the Democrats, who generally support an auto bailout, also will have larger majorities in both bodies of Congress.

But a plurality (39%) think it would be best for the economy if Congress didn’t pass any more economic stimulus plans at all. Six percent (6%) aren’t sure which course is best for Congress to follow.

Sixty-one percent (61%) of Republicans – and 51% of unaffiliateds - oppose any further stimulus plans, but only 13% of Democrats agree. Forty percent (40%) of Democratic voters say Congress should pass one now, while 41% want to wait until Obama is in the White House.

The Rasmussen Consumer and Investor Indexes both rose slightly on Thursday, after hitting record lows last week.

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Top executives for General Motors and Chrysler told Congress this week that they are running short of the necessary cash reserves to stay in business and may not be able to avoid bankruptcy before late January. The president of Ford said his company had the resources to make it through 2009 but that the failure of either of the other two companies would have a catastrophic impact on the auto industry.

Supporters of the automakers want to give them $25 billion from the $700-billion taxpayer-backed economic rescue plan that Congress approved last month. Opponents say the money is just delaying a much-needed restructuring of the auto companies who have failed to keep up with changes in their industry. Auto sales have dropped to record lows in the current economic climate.

Only 12% of voters say their personal finances will be significantly hurt if General Motors files for bankruptcy protection. Seventy-three percent (73%) say their finances will not be impacted, while 15% aren’t sure.

The number who say they will be impacted was lower than expected. A Rasmussen Reports prediction challenge found that the average expectation was for 31% of voters to say they would be impacted personally by the failure of GM.

Twenty-eight percent (28%) of voters say it would be better for the auto industry in the long term if one of the Big Three goes out of business. Thirty-eight percent (38%) say it would be worse in the long term, while 13% say it would have no impact on the industry. One out of five (21%) are undecided what the long-term impact might be.

Last month, 83% said the U.S. auto industry is at least somewhat important to the financial stability of the overall economy, with 38% saying it is Very important.

But this number has fallen since March 2007, when 49% said the auto industry was Very important to the U.S. economy.

Fifty percent (50%) of voters say the costs of hiring union workers are a major factor in the current financial problems of the automakers, but 35% disagree. Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure.

Given the major role organized labor plays in Democratic Party politics, it’s interesting to note that while 69% pf Republicans and 51% of unaffiliated voters believe union costs are a major factor in the auto industry’s financial troubles, just 33% of Democrats agree.

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