Car-aid bill needs support
Toledo Blade: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) has come up with a solid proposal to support the U.S. auto industry.
Mr. Brown’s bill, the “American Cars, American Jobs Act,” has two components: First, it would provide a $3,500-per-car reimbursement to the buyers of American-made cars. Second, it would revoke a tax cut on profits earned on vehicles whose production has been moved overseas.
The second should be a relatively easy sell. Why should the taxpayers subsidize the export of U.S. jobs?
The reimbursement — the cash reward for buying American from the government — will be a harder sell.
Mr. Brown pitches his $3,500 subsidy as a two-year program of up to $3 billion, which ends at two years or when the money runs out, whichever happens first.
Well, $3,500 is a lot of money, per buyer, and that figure might have to be reduced to $1,000 or $500, or turned into a tax credit to gain widespread congressional support. But Mr. Brown should try, and try hard, to build a coalition around this proposal. Press conferences alone will not save or create jobs in our country.