I'd Rather Take the Mercedes

Now here's a classic example of the McGuinty Liberals once again making it seem like they're doing something when they actually aren't. Yesterday, Minister George Smitherman blasted the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) for giving away a Mercedes Benz in one of its up coming lotteries. According to Smitherman, with the current downturn in the economy, the lottery should be showcasing Canadian built cars as prizes rather then ones built in Europe. At first this seems to make sense until you realize nobody wants a Chevy. OLG claims the deal was made ten months ago and they're in a contract with Daimler Crysler for the car. That's right, Mercedes is owned by Crysler, one of the two companies looking for a $10 billion bailout from the Feds. At first it seems to make sense and I can't see why OLG couldn't just make a deal to swap the Marcedes for say a fully loader Challenger, which is made in Brampton ON. However, this is really just nitpicking on the Liberals part. It's one $80,000 car that is being given as a prize in one lottery. It's not like OLG is giving out thousands of foreign made cars left, right, and centre on a daily basis. They do offer Canadian built cars in their lotteries as is, as do many other car lotteries in Ontario. This outcry by Smitherman is a political gesture mostly to appease the CAW. "Fake outrage and the idiots will keep voting for us because they think we're on their side."

Switching gears here, no pun intended, I think it's worth while to examine the whole bailout issue. Out of the Big Three US automakers, Ford is the only company that is not seeking a bailout from either the US or Canada. Ford Canada's CEO put an interesting offer on the table. What if instead of a direct bailout, the government increases the scrapping fee for cars over 10 years old to $3500. That would mean that when you trade in your old car, you get $3500 tax rebate towards a new vehicle. Both Honda and Toyota's Canadian divisions are backing Ford on this idea. Ford reasons that there is no sense in giving these companies money if people still are not buying cars. It is currently a vary good time to purchase a new vehicle but with the way the economy is, that little extra nudge may be what's needed to get people to take the plunge. I for one think this is an excellent idea and it's likely one the Conservatives will endorse. Liberals have already started bashing it though, considering it a waste of tax payer dollars. From my experience, Liberals tend to prefer more immediate, short-term results. The problem is that short-term thinking just doesn't work here. You could bail out GM now and maybe save some jobs for a year or two but what happens after? GM has shown little to no interest in meaningful restructuring and the CAW has been highly resistant to concessions. So if you bail them out now, you'll likely have to bail them out again five years down the road. Additionally, you'll still have thousands of vehicles rusting on car lots, not generating revenue. This doesn't create a sustainable economy or job security. With Ford's plan, you're taking the money that you would have spent on the bailout anyway and giving it back to consumers for the explicit purpose of buying a new, Canadian made car. This jump starts market and creates a more sustainable environment to sell new vehicles. Hey, it's the best plan we've heard so far and we've pretty much exhausted all other alternatives. The least we could do is try it rather than throwing more tax dollars down a hole.