As the federal government and major U.S. industries continue the bailout boogie on Capitol Hill, Americans have been examining what exactly all these billions of dollars go toward and who exactly they help.

Proponents of the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street in October argued that, in the end, the bailout would help Main Street.

On Nov. 19, the CEOs of the Big Three automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- shuffled up to the Hill, hat in hand, asking for a bailout to the tune of $25 billion. The CEOs were met with extreme skepticism, and an initial vote was postponed because it was believed there was not enough support to pass the bailout, followed by calls from Congressional leaders for specific plans from the executives about how the money would save their companies.

Loss Of 13.3 Million Jobs?

At least one lawmaker at the hearing perceived a bias toward the auto bailout because it could benefit blue-collar workers.

"I have been struck, not happily, in the time that we've been discussing this, at what frankly seems to me an inherent cultural bias," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chair of the House Financial Services Committee. "There's a double standard here. Aid to blue-collar employees is being judged by a standard different than white-collar employees."

Proof of Frank's statement, at least in the fact that the bailout could aid millions of blue-collar workers, seems to exist.

According to the Alliance for American Manufacturing, the U.S. auto industry directly employs 239,000 American workers. According to a study by Auto Alliance, the nation's auto industry supports 13.3 million U.S. jobs. Were the Big Three to go under, the ripple effect across the economy would be tremendous.

The manufactured parts that go into an American automobile come from many different sectors of the economy.

According to a 2003 study by the Center for Automotive Research, 92,200 jobs in plastic and rubber, 23,575 jobs in glass, 15,475 jobs in steel, 3,384 jobs in iron, 25,859 jobs in aluminum and 1,393 jobs in the copper and brass industries relied directly on the auto industry. The study also concluded that 240,200 jobs in metal manufacturing were in the same boat.

The study also found that building cars uses 3.9 percent of all the plastic and rubber in the country, 23 percent of the glass, 14 percent of the steel and 31 percent of the iron and aluminum. The Auto Alliance study perhaps best summed up the importance of the auto industry on the American economy by concluding that for every worker directly employed by an automaker, more than 10 spin-off jobs are created.

"We face the question of a $25 billion loan that would be repaid … or we face the prospects of $100 to $150 billion in costs to our economy down the road in the form of plant closings, layoffs, supply chains disappearing, the government needing to pick up pension obligations, increased demand on social services and a dramatic loss of income for millions of workers who would be put out of business were the Big Three to go bankrupt," said AAM Executive Director Scott Paul in a Nov. 20 conference call.

Some Critics Support Bailout

Even the biggest critics of the auto industry appear to be in favor of the bailout because of the impact it could have on the average American worker.

Filmmaker Michael Moore, one the most prominent critics of the auto industry, rose to fame by directing and starring in the 1989 documentary "Roger and Me," which chronicled the devastation the town of Flint, Mich., underwent in the 1980s when GM closed plants and laid off thousands of workers at a time it was making billions in profits. Moore appeared on "Larry King Live" Nov. 19 to talk about the proposed bailout, and even he spoke in favor of it, albeit with some changes he would like to see.

"It's a horrible ripple effect (on the economy)," said Moore. "That's why they as an infrastructure and as a company it can't be allowed to go under. My point is that we shouldn't be giving the money to the current management team and the current people that are running this thing into the ground. I mean, Larry, $25 billion? If we're going to give them $25 billion, we should really be able to own the company. If you gave me $25 billion to make my next movie, I think you own that movie, Larry."

The Big Three CEOs all took private jets to Washington, D.C., in order to appear before Congress, which each cost an estimated $20,000 apiece. News like that -- combined with the recent announcement that GM just opened a $300 million plant in Russia -- has not helped send the message that this bailout is aimed at the American blue-collar worker. "I'm of mixed mind about this bailout, Larry, because I don't think these companies, with these management people, should be given a dime, because that's just going to be money going up in smoke or off to other countries," said Moore. "GM is currently building a $300 million factory in Russia right now to build SUVs, right outside of St. Petersburg. That's where your money's going to go, no matter what they say."