Another Hummer handout?

A few of you may recall the tax break (handout) for Hummers and large SUV's that the Bush regime provided in the mid-2000s. This giveaway let Hummer owners claim a business purpose for vehicles that were for personal use.

Now America is being treated to a big, nasty repeat...repeat...repeat...repeat....repeat.

An op-ed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) exposes this fleecing. Yes, I know: Collins and Feinstein aren't even my favorite senators, yet they seem to be on the ball this time (for once).

A new bill would have helped Americans trade gas-guzzlers for more efficient cars. But corporate lobbyists have gutted the bill by somehow making it so you can use it to buy a new Hummer H3T that gets only 16 miles per gallon, but not a used Ford Focus that gets 27 miles per gallon.

And the House has approved this version of the bill.

It is in effect a bailout for Hummers and other inefficient vehicles.

As for the portion of the bill that was removed because it disqualified foreign-made cars, I frankly don't see what was wrong with this provision. Reportedly, it was removed because it violated free trade laws. But if our trade laws are stacked so much against American workers that this provision had to be deleted, I think it's time to rethink our trade policies.

(Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124467696781404127.html)