Why not buy every tax payer a car?

[ThomWV]

If you file taxes in 2008 pick the car you want from a list of energy efficient cars to be built by either Chrysler, Ford, or GM. Let the Government dictate the economy and emission standards for the cars but nothing else about their design other than the requirement of safety features common to any car. Give the auto makers a year to begin producing the cars. The cars should not be luxury laden, but well equipped. Either have Uncle Sam write the check for the cars or give each of the taxpayers a tax credit equal to 100% of the car's cost applied to before-tax earnings - one way or another make the car's free at the time of delivery.

It would certainly put lots of workers back on the lines, lots of parts makers back in business, lots of designers back at their screens.

Yes, I know, sooner or later its the taxpayer that will be footing the bill, but at least this way you'll get something for your money.

[NightWatcher]

1. or cut every man, and woman 18 and over a check for 50,000$

our share of all of these CEO bailouts (and bridge loans) is going to come close to that amount anyway.

[sandnsea]

6. We would have paid off debt

which would have went to the banks and creditors, which would have taken bad debt off their books, which was the original plan. Except this would have worked if you were required to have proof that you paid the debt in order to use the credit.

[Warren Stupidity]

12. 15 trillion dollars?

15,000,000,000,000 is a lot of dollars.

[Wabbajack_]

2. LOL MY GOP MOM had the same idea

[bluestateguy]

3. I was thinking more along the lines of some no-bid government contracts

with the conditions that you specify about energy efficiency.

[tavalon]

4. Well that would solve one problem but keep an even bigger problem going.

It's way past time to take our collective mouths off of the oil teat.

[DJ13]

5. Cant do that until there are viable alternatives ready for production

We are nowhere near ready to "take our collective mouths off of the oil teat" at this point.

[Lorien]

7. Sure we are

the EV1 and www.aptera.com

[tavalon]

8. Nope, but one car for each person perpetuates the problem

..

[Uben]

9. How about this......

...in the future, we all buy cars from an auto maker that makes the right decisions and produces high mileage or alternative fuel vehicles? And, they do it profitably! How about we refuse to buy any products from any corporation that pays their CEO over 1 million dollars a year? Or how about boycotting every company that outsources their labor?

How about we stop shooting ourselves in the foot by purchasing everything made overseas just because it's a little cheaper? You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want a strong economy, you have to keep the jobs here so people will have money to spend. If you want those foreign made products, move to their country and see how you like it. See how much they are willing to pay you.

Or even better, demand equal trade from every country. They have to buy one dollar of American goods to sell one dollar of their goods in America. No exceptions! Saudi Arabia would go bankrupt in a week! So would China!

Be American, buy American!

[Jane Austin]

10. Here's what I posted the other day about

the government buying cars:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4586747&mesg_id=4586747

[Warren Stupidity]

11. here is why

2008 processed individual returns: 74,139,000
Approximate cost of a new car...........20,000
--------------------------------> 1,482,780,000,000

That would be 1.5 trillion.

Now of course our taxpayer obligations to billionaire fat cat wall street bankers amount to somewhere around 8 trillion, with a current outlay, depending on how you account for it between 0.7 and 2.3 trillion, so really your idea is not that far fetched.

[Berry Cool]

13. Why not just have Oprah do it?

She can probably better afford it.

[carlyhippy]

14. That would be o.k., and they need to be fuel efficient vehicles

every taxpayer, would that also include teenagers who file taxes and college students? If so, I would definitely say "Bring it on!!!!!" My kids would love a new car.

[Sanctified]

15. I would rather be given the money for something other than consumption.

Why should we get a new car if we already have a perfectly good one, also why should we be limited to a crappy Chrysler, Ford or GM?