The Big Question for Tuesday, Nov. 18: Is bailing out Detroit good policy or bad policy? (See all responses here.)

NAM Vice President for Tax and Domestic Policy Dorothy Coleman’s response: Providing $25 billion in loans to the auto companies from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP) is necessary because there is no practical alternative. The nation’s economy is at a vulnerable point. Consumers and investors are skittish. Job losses are mounting. And the unease reaches far beyond our borders, portending a worldwide economic slowdown.

In this environment, we simply cannot stand idly by and let the auto companies suffer a systemic failure. It isn’t just a matter of these auto makers at risk, but rather the highly-integrated nature of the overall auto industry. The big auto companies no longer make vehicles from scratch. Rather, they are highly dependent upon an array of suppliers who provide a variety of parts. Other foreign-owned auto companies in the U.S. are likewise dependent on these suppliers, and would be adversely impacted by their disappearance.

In sum, millions of jobs are at stake. A failure of even one of the major auto makers could have a crippling impact on the entire supply chain, wreak havoc on the entire industry and reverberate throughout the economy. Some 2.6 million jobs — about 1.9 percent of the entire U.S. workforce — could be lost if one of the Big Three auto companies went under. This includes the people directly tied to the auto companies and their suppliers, the people who make steel, glass, fabric and electronics, and even the restaurant workers who serve executives of the ad agencies that depend on auto company contracts. Thus, relief for the auto industry should be seen, not as a bailout for Detroit, but rather part of an overall effort to restore confidence among consumers and investors, and stabilize the economy.

Time is of the essence — we must move quickly. This is another difficult call for many in Congress, but providing this critical funding to the auto industry is in the best interests of our overall economy.