Surprise! Both General Motors and Chrysler, fresh off of receiving government bailouts, are back asking for more. Who could’ve seen this coming? Oh right, everyone from economists to Saturday Night Live. And guess what? They both want more cash than they received last time.

First GM:

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM – News) said on Tuesday it could need a total of up to $30 billion in U.S. government aid — more than doubling its original aid — and would run out of cash as soon as March without new federal funding.

The request for additional aid from the top U.S. automaker came in a restructuring plan GM submitted to U.S. officials on Tuesday…

GM also said it had not reached deals with bondholders and its major union to reduce some $47 billion in debt but would work to reach those agreements by the end of March.

Gee, I wonder why. Could it be because neither side has any interest in giving something as long as Uncle Sam keeps refilling their bank accounts? Buying them the time to drag out the negotiations and removing the incentive to compromise?

Over at Chrysler:

DETROIT (AP) – Chrysler LLC on Tuesday told the U.S. government it needs even more taxpayer money to survive. General Motors is expected to do the same. Acknowledging that industry conditions are worse than expected when it made the case in December for a government bailout, Chrysler requested an additional $5 billion in government loans. It originally said it would need $3 billion more. The company had previously received $4 billion from the Treasury Department.

Sure, why not another $5 billion? And then perhaps $6 billion when they’re back in two months for more. And every two months we can keep loading up their bank accounts. Meanwhile, both companies are laying off people by the thousands and can’t come to a deal with the UAW. Craptastic.

While we’re on this topic, here’s a great video from Reason. It includes the SNL clip where the show parodies the automakers laying out the schedule for when they’d ask for more money.