Bankruptcy of the Big Three would be very expensive to the economy as a whole and the federal government. It would mean loss of 240,000 very high paying jobs at the Big Three, a loss of 980,000 high-paying jobs at the suppliers and local dealers, and 1.7 million jobs throughout the economy. It would cause a decline in personal income of $151 billion the first year, and $398 billion over three years. The federal, state and local governments would lose tax revenue and spend on welfare programs a total of $156 billion over three years.<ref> CAR Research Memorandum. "The Impact of the U.S. Economy of a Major Contraction of the Detroit Three Automakers" (Nov 2008) [http://www.cargroup.org/documents/FINALDetroitThreeContractionImpact_3__000.pdf online edition]</ref> | Bankruptcy of the Big Three would be very expensive to the economy as a whole and the federal government. It would mean loss of 240,000 very high paying jobs at the Big Three, a loss of 980,000 high-paying jobs at the suppliers and local dealers, and 1.7 million jobs throughout the economy. It would cause a decline in personal income of $151 billion the first year, and $398 billion over three years. The federal, state and local governments would lose tax revenue and spend on welfare programs a total of $156 billion over three years.<ref> CAR Research Memorandum. "The Impact of the U.S. Economy of a Major Contraction of the Detroit Three Automakers" (Nov 2008) [http://www.cargroup.org/documents/FINALDetroitThreeContractionImpact_3__000.pdf online edition]</ref> |