One of my cars is a 1995 Chevy Blazer. It isn’t in perfect shape but I wouldn’t call it a clunker. The government would. So, I got to thinking. I have no desire for a new car payment but this would be fine time to buy a new car. The clunker allowance would pretty much cover the immediate depreciation that makes buying a new car a bad money move. I even asked my wife to go look at a few possible new cars. We almost went today. Next option to go is next week.

Oh yeah, today the AP reported that the cash for clunkers program might be put on hold for fear of running out of money. Umm, Honey, forget the shopping trip.

I realize this is a cautionary move so the program doesn’t run out of money but at the current rate that might happen. They really don’t know because it takes time to process the requests and there have been ALOT of requests.

So here we have a government program that appears to actually do what it is supposed to do and we risk not financing it well enough. C’mon…They voted over 787 billion in stimulus funds and this 1 billion, which is not a direct part of the stimulus, may not be enough. Hey, here is an idea. Fund another billion if needed. Yes, this may help me buy a car but it will also continue to stimulate demand.

Here is what the stimulus is supposed to do
Take a big step toward computerizing Americans’ health records, reducing medical errors, and saving billions in health care costs;
Revive the renewable energy industry and provide the capital over the next three years to eventually double domestic renewable energy capacity;
Undertake the largest weatherization program in history by modernizing 75 percent of federal building space and more than one million homes;
Increase college affordability for seven million students by funding the shortfall in Pell Grants, increasing the maximum award level by $500, and providing a new higher education tax cut to nearly four million students;
As part of the $150 billion investment in new infrastructure, enact the largest increase in funding of our nation’s roads, bridges, and mass transit systems since the creation of the national highway system in the 1950s;
Provide an $800 Making Work Pay tax credit for 129 million working households, and cut taxes for the families of millions of children through an expansion of the Child Tax Credit;
Require unprecedented levels of transparency, oversight, and accountability

Weatherization…Wonderful. Not sure how all of that stimulates the economy but I know that buying cars does. What do I know? I am just a leadership consultant and one of the things I teach is to be consistent.

Well, at this point the consistency thing is a bit in question. What would you do if you offered a benefit to an employee or customer and it was working but working too well? I hope you wouldn’t cave in.

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