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A lot more than we needed to bail out the banks, which have more cash than at any point in history and still aren't doing what they were supposed to do as a result of their big fat payday for incompetence.
It's not all the car companies' fault. Why did the feds give such sweetheart deals to foreign companies that assemble (not manufacture, assemble) cars here? Why can Ford make more money manufacturing cars in Canada and selling them here (which is exactly what they will be doing in 2010 - no more American factories for Ford)?
Florida is a right to work state. No forced union membership here. And guess what? The supposed abuses that unions protect us from have never arisen. Average pay for the state is lower than some others, but the cost of living in North Florida is unbelievably low so those of us in Miami get screwed because of that, not because we don't have the Teamsters looking out for us.
One of the reasons we are in the economic position we are in is because of the Bush/Clinton/Bush theory that manufacturing is not necessary to a successful 21st century economy. Which is bullshit, but 20 years of bad policy has left us a third world country - all the resources in the world, but we make nothing with them.
Failing to bailout the automakers (as long as they have a plan to make themselves world class companies) is a continuation of the destruction of America.
