... and 70% of the American people do not.

Democrats are insisting on bringing an auto bailout to the table, even though the Bush administration says that the $700 billion bailout was not intended for this purpose ... and even though it is going to be a very tough fight for Harry Reid in the Senate. But fight they will and this week on Capitol Hill we will hear from auto executives and the United Auto Workers.

Nancy Pelosi came up with a plan that she believes will be enticing enough to get enough Republican support. This plan includes adding certain strings to the auto bailout: new fuel-efficiency standards, development of new technology "to compete in the domestic and global market" and restructuring company finances. The Democrats also want to include limiting executive pay. In other words ... the Democrats feel that they, rather than the consumers, are the ones who know just what kind of cars the manufacturers build. All this is going to do is force the automakers to build cars that the American people have already shown that they just do not want to buy.

The Democrats also want to limit executive pay ... but what about the over-inflated pay of the workers at these auto companies, thanks to union contracts. I've told you this statistic before, but $1,600 of every GM car you buy goes toward the healthcare costs of union workers. For companies like Toyota that aren't unionized - that cost is only $200 per car. GM also spends another $1,000 per vehicle on holiday pay, work rules, plant-shutdown-pay and line-relief to UAW workers. Those are costs that auto makers such as Toyota don't have to worry about. The average Ford, GM or Chrysler union worker makes about $71.00 or more per hour. For Toyota, Nissan and the rest ... about $48.00 per year. Do you detect a small problem here?

If the Democrats are truly concerned about "restructuring company finances" they should start with union contracts. What is clear from this situation is that these companies can no longer handle the burden of unionization ... so why should the Democrats allow this practice to continue if they succeed with their bailout? It will be the taxpayers funding the system that broke these auto companies to begin with.

Of course, this is not how United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger see things. He said over the weekend that union contracts are not the problem. He says the problem is out of his control because these auto makers are suffering from the housing slump, credit crisis, etc. He says, "The focus has to be on the economy as a whole as opposed to a UAW contract ... We're here not because of what the auto industry has done ... We're here because of what has happened to the economy."

Nonsense. The bailout would only delay the inevitable.. and unless something is done right now about the union stranglehold on the auto industry the inevitable is bankruptcy. Let them go bankrupt. That doesn't mean they go out of business ... it means that union contracts can be voided unilaterally by the auto manufacturers and they can then get about restructuring their businesses based on consumer wants rather than political mandates.

By the way ... have you heard of the auto worker's "Job Banks Program?" Well, click here, read this, and then tell me how much you support a bailout.