We Didn’t Let Detroit Go Bankrupt

By ThinkProgress War Room on Feb 24, 2012 at 4:05 pm

Saving the Auto Industry, By the Numbers

Top: A moving billboard from Progress Michigan outside Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, where Mitt Romney gave “a major speech” earlier this afternoon.

Bottom: United Auto Workers members lined up American-made cars spelling out “Romney: Let Detroit Go Bankrupt” outside of Ford Field.

0.018…the number of Ford Fields filled by Mitt Romney today.

1…the rank (by total sales) of General Motors among all automakers in the world, a title it had lost to Toyota three years ago but regained in 2011.

2…the number of Ford Fields (capacity 65,000) that could be filled nearly to capacity by autoworkers who have regained their jobs since the industry’s lowest point in 2009.

3…the number of shifts per day that many U.S. auto plants are working as automakers add third shifts to keep up with growing demand.

7…the number of years since all three U.S. automakers turned a profit at the same time.

20…the number of Ford Fields that could’ve been filled by the Americans who would’ve lost their jobs if we had simply “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”

624,400…the number of workers in the auto industry when it hit its lowest point in June of 2009.

746,300…the number of workers in the auto industry as of last month.

1,300,000…the number of Americans who would’ve lost their jobs if we had simply “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”

$7,600,000,000…GM’s 2011 profit, a new record for the 103 year-old company.

Friday Fun: Compare and Contrast

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