After all, we've had nearly five years of quite remarkable monetary and fiscal policy stimulus: George W. Bush's Troubled Asset Relief Program, Obama's stimulus program, cash-for-clunkers, subsidies for first-time home buyers, plus multiple rounds of "quantitative easing" by the Federal Reserve.
The major parts of the stimulus packages consisted of credit and financing for private companies, a bonus depreciation plan, additional funds for R&D, subsidies for thermal rehabilitation of buildings, a car scrappage program ("cash-for-clunkers") and increased public expenditures on infrastructure.
The best benefits can generally be found at large companies: programs, cash payouts for patent disclosures, premium healthcare and dental plans, tuition reimbursement, employee discount plans with other companies, and guaranteed vacation time.
G.M., Ford and Chrysler estimated that the program — called Cash for Clunkers — could generate 500,000 to 1.5 million new sales.
A program offering cash for guns has persuaded the public to turn in nearly 1,600 weapons, including sawed-off shotguns and assault weapons, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said yesterday.
The Home Star program, nicknamed "cash for caulkers," is one initiative I expect to see.
Maybe an incentive program called "Cash for Cures" a-la "Cash for Clunkers?" (Just kidding -- or maybe not?).
The stimulus effort should have contained more programs like Cash for Clunkers, which pulled car sales forward, emptied dealership lots and prompted auto plants to bring back thousands of employees.
The one highly visible success of the stimulus program has been the cash-for-clunkers program.
Bush dubs this program as the "cash for clunkers" program for health IT leaving no doubt what his opinion is regarding the legacy vendors' solutions.
