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ABC was the only newscast Wednesday to have a reporter update us on the desperate automobile news coming out of Detroit. Chris Bury told us about the month-long shutdown of all production at Chrysler. Now CNBC's Phil LeBeau files the day's sole Detroit package on NBC. General Motors needs an $8bn federal loan, Chrysler $4bn "just to make it through January." President George Bush explained his indecision during a q-&-a session at the American Enterprise Institute: "There is still a lot of uncertainty and I am also worried about putting good money after bad." But LeBeau's sources assured him that his mind is already made up: "By all indications tomorrow we expect President Bush to outline his plan for bailing out the Big Three." From the White House, NBC's Chuck Todd pointed out that one reason why it was so easy for Senate Republicans to vote against Detroit last week was that they knew their vote had no consequence: mindful of the Herbert Hoover analogy, "Bush was not going to allow a bankruptcy to happen on his watch."
Even before those 46,000 Chrysler workers file for benefits, automobile unemployment has hit Michigan and Indiana hardest, CBS' Kelly Wallace pointed out. The jobless benefits funds in those two states "dried up and they are now getting loans from the federal government" while 28 other states nationwide are on the brink of running out of money. "If the recession lasts for years the states' options are limited and tough: either raise taxes on employers who fund the system or pare down benefits."
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