The Obama Auto Rescue Saved 154,843 Jobs and Added 17,000 in Ohio

Last updated on October 21st, 2012 at 04:39 pm

Obama for America’s new ad, “Made in Ohio,” features Ohioans who know just how important President Obama’s rescue of the auto industry was for them, their families, and their communities. The Obama auto rescue saved 154,843 jobs in 2009 alone and added 17,000 jobs in the auto industry since 2009.

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Brian:
“They came up and said you are definitely laid off—everybody as of right now.”

Karen:
“What was I going to do for my children? Are they going to have a home?”

Miles:
“Without President Obama’s rescue of the auto industry, Ohio would have collapsed.”

George:
“Mitt Romney would have just let us go under- just let them go…bankrupt.”

Romney:
“Yeah, that’s…that’s exactly what I said, the headline that you read which is, said: “let Detroit go bankrupt.”

Karen:
“And for him to just say— let them fail.”

George:
“How can you say something like that? It’s just beyond me.”

Mitt Romney often tries to claim that while he wrote “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt”, that’s exactly what happened. Not quite.

According to a Center for Automotive Research report, “government intervention in preventing a disorderly bankruptcy for General Motors and Chrysler saved Ohio 154,843 jobs in 2009. These numbers are derived from taking the difference between the report’s “worst case” scenario- a free fall bankruptcy for both automakers – and the report’s “best case” scenario- a controlled, government-backed restructuring through bankruptcy. See math below: Difference Between Best Case (-6,026) & Worst Case (-160,869) (Total Jobs Saved): 154,843.” [Center For Automotive Research Automaker Bankruptcies Report, 5/26/09]

Here’s a chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that puts to rest any talking points about whether or not we should have rescued the auto industry, unless Republicans were rooting for failure. It worked (click to enlarge):

Since the Obama auto rescue, Ohio has added more than 17,000 jobs [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/17/12]. Innovation Ohio points out that Romney and Gov. Kasich like to downplay the success of the auto rescue because it “didn’t go their way.” They write, “He (Mitt Romney) famously penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal which argued against federal involvement in backstopping the auto industry. Rather than quietly move on from an issue that didn’t go his way – the rescue worked – he and Ohio Gov. John Kasich talk down Ohio’s recovering economy and the auto industry’s place in that recovery.”

Ohio knows who has its back, and it’s not the guy who said “Let Detroit go bankrupt.”

Sarah Jones

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