Earl Shoup – 12/26/08

This page was last updated on December 27, 2008.

Give us cash to buy American cars; Earl Shoup; Beaver County Times; December 26, 2008.

This letter is of the same quality as Mr. Shoup’s previous letters. Previous examples of Mr. Shoup’s work are here, here, and here. In “Pitiful excuse of a president,” Mr. Shoup declared himself to be “A proud liberal Democrat.”

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Why are our lawmakers so reluctant to include average Americans in any of the freebie billion dollar stimulus bailout money they are readily handing out but enthusiastically dispense it to companies that are responsible for the present economic condition the country is mired in and, in a large part, thoughtlessly using the money for personal gain?”

[RWC] As a “proud liberal Democrat” himself, I wonder why Mr. Shoup fails to note most of the congressional supporters of the bailouts are “proud liberal Democrats.”

“I have an idea that seems to have escaped our dim-witted lawmakers, and one that would facilitate the bailout of the Big Three automakers while placing some of that stimulus money in the competent hands of American taxpayers.

“Ask Americans to buy U.S.-made cars and, in turn, give them a down payment, say as much as $10,000, and make that payment tax exempt if they purchase an environmentally friendly vehicle.”

[RWC] What about “U.S.-made cars” by foreign automakers?

“Noooooo! That would be too easy and it would put some of that stimulus money into the hands of those of us who need it the most, American taxpayers, something that inexplicably escapes our thoughtless lawmakers.”

[RWC] If you’re in the market for a new car, are you really one “of those of us who need it [a bailout] the most?”

“They need to wake up. We elected them to do our bidding and not that of the big company lawyers and lobbyists.”

[RWC] I didn’t know we elected representatives “to do our bidding.” Mr. Shoup has one thing in common with “our dim-witted lawmakers” who believe in bailouts. Both wrongly believe handouts will help; they differ on only who would get the handouts.