All told, over 61 percent of all Americans oppose the bailout proposal, according to Brad O’Leary, president of ATI.
 
“They don’t see this as being something that has to do with the credit crunch,” O’Leary told CNSNews.com. “They see it as something that has to do with bad management and the Big Three producing cars that (consumers) didn’t want to buy over the last 10 years.”
 
The results seemed clear, O’Leary said. Americans think Congress is prepared to “load billions of their hard-earned tax dollars onto a sinking ship." 
 
At the rate the Big Three are burning through cash, he said, the bailout would do nothing but buy the companies "just a few months of time" and would "remove any incentive" for them to restructure and reform their companies, he added.
 
"It would only foster dependency and create incentive for Congress to deliver them future multibillion-dollar government handouts," O'Leary added.
 
The pollsters, meanwhile, also posed a second question: "If General Motors files for bankruptcy instead of receiving a government rescue, would you favor or oppose spending $1 billion of previously approved bailout money to fund the federal program that guarantees pensions for auto workers affected by the bankruptcy, so their pensions would be guaranteed up to $40,000 a year?"
 
A majority (54 percent) would favor a guarantee of worker pensions, while only 33 percent say they oppose such a plan. Thirteen percent were not sure.
 
The poll, which was conducted Nov. 25 through Dec. 1, sampled opinions of 2,500 people and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percentage points.

The White House, congressional Democrats and the automakers have reportedlty reached a deal on a $15 billion loan package for the Big Three.