This sounds brilliant to me.
offer a 50 percent rebate check to every purchaser of a new, American-made car produced by any auto company that signs up for a voluntary restructuring program with the federal government. The rebate would be paid by the Treasury Department, and then exchanged for preferred stock in the company that produced the car.
* Giving people a major incentive to buy a new car *now* would be a huge economic stimulus.
* Getting all those unsold cars out of inventory would solve the immediate problems of the car companies.
* Tying the program to a restructuring would address the car companies' longer term issues.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/...