Strickland: Auto Collapse Could Fuel Depression

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) said that the country could fall into a depression if the domestic car companies collapse.

“I believe that we are in a national recession that could, and God forbid, but it could go into a depression if this industry fails,” Strickland said on MSNBC on Thursday. “Ohio and Michigan and most other states depend not only upon the auto manufacturers, but they depend upon the auto suppliers. And that supply network is scattered throughout our nation. It’s a very fragile network of industries, and they are on the edge. And if they were to collapse, we would see the meltdown of the major manufacturing backbone of our nation’s economy.”

Strickland supports the $15 billion federal bailout for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. He said that opponents of the measure are “playing with fire” because the collapse of the auto industry would have affect the supply chain used by other sectors.

“This is not a fight between the North and the South, it’s not a fight between unionized auto manufacturers and non-unionized auto manufacturers,” he said. “Ohio has a big Honda operation. The Honda folks were in to see me just two days ago, expressing deep concern about the supply chain.”