Gas Guzzler Bailout Program

Ever since the government stepped in to bail out the financial and auto industries, people have been complaining that there hasn’t been anything in these programs for the people who paid their taxes, lived responsibly, and didn’t run any multi-billion dollar companies or industries into the ground. I’ve been countering by pointing out that having both of these sectors go extinct will be much worse for the American taxpayer than just shelling out the extra money for the bailouts – and that the approach used by both the Hoover and Bush Administrations when facing the threat of a nationwide Depression (running around the Oval Office in circles making little shrieking noises) doesn't appear to have panned out, so we need to try something else. But then I got the news about a bailout program that everyone in the country should be able to get behind…

According to a story being reported by The Associated Press, Congress is working on a bill to provide consumers with up to $4,500 if they trade in a gas-guzzler for a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle. The House version has already passed, and the Obama Administration is putting pressure on the Senate to pass it as well. If signed into law, this program would serve the immediate purpose of encouraging people to purchase new cars (thus pouring money into our bankrupt and teetering auto makers), and would also assure that all of the employers that dip into that revenue stream (suppliers of the auto makers, dealerships, companies that transport cars and raw materials, financing companies, state motor vehicle departments and licensing boards, etc.) get a share of the resulting rising tide…

Even better, though, is that this measure will support production of cars with better gas mileage, which will have definite benefits for the environment, the long-term health of the auto manufacturers, and the long-term health of all of the citizens of our country who live anywhere near a road. It’s possible that the drop in demand for gasoline will also bring the price down, which would benefit everyone who can’t trade in their car, as well. It’s certainly a better idea than just giving an equivalent amount of money to the auto makers themselves, or just dumping the cash into the general economy as a tax cut. But it’s still only a short-term program; if we’re going to actually get the economy back on a sound footing there will need to be some more elaborate innovations…

I’m already on record supporting the idea of our government creating jobs, and then giving people jobs instead of handouts. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) did just that during the Great Depression, and while it was only marginally effective in changing the economic picture, it did a lot for the people who were part of it. Maybe this time we could try paying people to work on our crumbling infrastructure, take on service jobs we actually need (daycare workers, health workers, educators), and put even more money back into our economy. Alternately, perhaps we could pass a similar law that gives people assistance in insulating their houses, buying new energy-efficient appliances, retrofitting with new windows and fireproof roof tiles, and so on…

Because this time we can’t afford to just hide our heads in the sand and hope for the economic boom of a new World War to come along and save us…