Former Gov. Mitt Romney said Sunday that he is glad the $14 billion auto industry bailout proposal failed last week in the U.S. Senate and that Congress and President George W. Bush should take immediate action to stimulate the economy.

Romney, a Belmont Republican, appeared on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott and Google CEO Eric Schmidt to discuss the economy.

Romney said the auto bailout proposal, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives but stalled in the U.S. Senate last week, wouldn't have solved the auto industry's problems.

"I am glad to see that the proposal that was made by the chief executives of the Big Three didn't get accepted," Romney said. "They basically came to Washington saying, ‘Give us, give us a check so we can continue to fund business as usual.'"

Romney said everyone agrees the country should have a successful automobile industry but that the bailout proposal would not have accomplished that goal.

"Right now, those companies suffer about a $2,000 per automobile cost disadvantage," Romney said. "Part of that is labor, part is benefits and part is a legacy cost associated with retirees. As long as that $2,000 disadvantage is on their back, they can't be competitive. They'll keep losing share, they'll ultimately find themselves, frankly, being potentially liquidated down the road. So let's get rid of that cost disadvantage."

Romney's remarks were reminiscent of a recent op-ed he wrote in the New York Times. Romney, whose father was the chairman of American Motors, called for allowing Detroit's Big Three to fall into a managed bankruptcy so they can make major changes.

The discussion on Meet the Press Sunday turned testy at points, as Granholm disagreed with Romney's prescription for the auto industry. Granholm said the bailout proposal failed because those that supported it did not do an adequate job of detailing the effects a failure of the auto industry would have on the country's economy. Granholm said that foreign manufacturers have an advantage because their country's provide health insurance which negates the "burden" placed on American auto makers.

Romney countered that those foreign companies don't have that luxury in their U.S. plants and they still continue to outperform American companies.

Turning more generally to the economy, Romney said the country can't wait for the next administration for the government to act.

"We're going to have to have our government take action to stimulate our economy," he said. "Why is Washington waiting? We're seeing more than 100,000 jobs a month being lost in this economy, and we're waiting. I guess people are waiting for the next president. I don't know why."