They Couldn’t Get A Loan From A Loan Shark
Your entertainment clip of the day. Shep Smith on Fox was pretty hot today over the bailout and the proposed bailout for the Big 3 automakers. First he took issue with people sending him e-mails telling him to stop calling it a bailout. He would not stop.
Then when guest Alexis Smith from the Fox Business Channel joined him he wondered aloud if the Big 3 could get a loan from anyone other than the government.
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The Other Plan to Save Detroit
It looks like the folks in DC are inclined to give the stimulus package another try.
Meanwhile, the Democrats owe too much to the unions not to save the auto industry.
Let's combine the two give the economy a boost and save a few million jobs all at once!
Instead of shipping cases of cash off to car makers or sending us all another check;
Send out a voucher (for say $1,000) good for the purchase of a motor vehicle, according to the percentage of the vehicle that's produced domestically. (Civic = 70%, Ford Explorer=80%, etc.)
Those not interested in a new car could sell (or give away) their vouchers (EBay would be loaded with them in no time flat); those who wish to buy a car could use as many as they obtain, up to the full MSRP of the vehicle.
This would bail out the car industry without giving them a dime directly. Furthermore, it would reduce the overall age of the nation’s cars, increasing overall fuel economy & decreasing pollution!
Strengthen the dollar
Since vehicles with a higher domestic content would be moving better, this would reduce our imports, strengthening our dollar which would in turn further reduce what we pay for anything imported …like gas.
Jobs
Instead of simply saving relatively few jobs, this would cause such a run that it would create some; and instead of merely propping up the big 3, it would put 1000's of suppliers back to scheduling overtime.
Pays for itself!
Since money turns over 5 times, and the vouchers are only good for the domestic content of the vehicle, every dime would be spent in the United States creating taxable income.
What is the income tax on 65,000 anyway? (20K manufacturing cost = $13,500 W-2 income x 5 = $65,000)
I'm sure you'll agree that this makes more sense than simply sending out checks; many of which will be used to buy new flat screen TV's usually made in Malaysia or some such place.