Moon Shot

Should Michael Vick have been allowed to return to football? Absolutely. Those of you who know me are undoubtedly shocked I'm weighing in on this issue. For those who don't, here's my frame of reference:
I'm not a football fan. I don't watch, follow, or play the sport - not even fantasy leagues. Curiously, I like football movies - "Remember the Titans" comes to mind.
I don't currently have a dog, but I like dogs and have had several throughout my life.
I am not currently nor have I ever been a member of PETA or any other militant animal rights group.

There's a Demotivators poster that says, "Not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up." I think it's funny as hell, but it's also rather poignant - how many of us are doing what we dreamed of doing as kids? I imagine Michael Vick dreamed of playing pro ball as a youngster and worked hard and sacrificed much to see it happen. The fact that he succeeded is testament to his talent and determination.


Unfortunately, he suffered a severe lapse of judgment. He committed a crime. He was charged, tried, convicted, and imprisoned.

This is a key point. Upon conviction, he was sentenced to a term in jail. He served his time so the demands of the law are satisfied.Now, our actions create consequences. Michael Vick will have to deal with his. As a convicted felon, he may be prohibited from owning a firearm and voting, but he is certainly not prohibited from playing football. However, he does face loss of seniority (he's not the first string quarterback), the lack of sponsorship (and loss of income), and public disdain (or even assault by more militant types). Not severe enough? How about this: he worked years towards a goal. That's a lifetime of sacrifice, discipline, and determination. The culmination of his efforts were rewarded and he got what he wanted, his goals were met, his dream became reality. Then at the pinnacle of success, his own actions shattered what took a lifetime to achieve. His dream died by his own hand.


I believe in the confines of his cell, alone with his thoughts, this is what haunted him most. A series of stupid, inhumane decisions cost him his life's work. He lost his shot at going to the moon.


In every interview I've heard or read, he appears truly remorseful, and for the record, I believe him. There is an earnest plea in his voice for a second chance - a chance to prove he's changed, he's truly sorry, he is a better person than what was manifested by his past actions.


But why am I, a confirmed non-fan, talking about one of football's hot topics?Because it's not about football, it's about redemption. To fully achieve your heart's desire is a grand rarity, and allowing it to carelessly slip through your fingers can haunt a man to his grave. He's been given an opportunity to ransom his dream, a second chance to "go to the moon." I for one wish him well on his journey.

Scrap Cash for Clunkers

Don' get me wrong. If I were willing to part with my faithful old truck with 180,000+ miles on it, I'd love to take advantage of this government offer. I understand this program is wildly popular, however, this is not a sound financial policy. Congress just passed and the president just signed a 2 billion dollar extension for the program. This is reportedly enough to last through labor day and fund approximately 500,000 vehicles. This means with the initial 1 billion, this program will subsidize around 750,000 vehicles.

Supporters claim it's a boon to the auto manufacturers, their parts suppliers, and the dealerships. Also, because clunkers are exchanged for reportedly more efficient, greener vehicles, environmental advantages are claimed.

Here's the bottom line. This subsidy is unsustainable, the economic boost is temporary, and the environmental benefits are negligible.

I recently had a chance conversation with someone who is a long time Detroit resident and asked them how the town was responding to the the gov't cash infusion. I was told there were no visible benefits of the program. No wonder. Back in the day, the Big 3 could send millions of cars down the assembly line. Cash for clunkers will only cover 3/4 of 1 million cars.

Despite reports of dealer lots being emptied, I wonder how many of them merely liquidated their standing inventory - inventory that's been stagnant for the better part of a year. As for the environmental benefits, again, we're only talking about less than a million vehicles. We could have a bigger environmental impact just by keeping all the other cars on the road properly tuned and not driving like aggressive idiots.

What about the economic lift? This program has undoubtedly boosted car sales tremendously from last year's numbers. However, again, it's unsustainable. I have neither a degree in economics nor and MBA, but even I know it would be foolhardy to ramp up production to meet this temporary demand. What happens after labor day when the program is expected to end? Are you going to mothball factories and lay off workers again?

So what's the answer? I suggest using tax credits. This bypasses the pot holes of subsidizing a specific sector with finite funds. We could use tax credits to boost sales for other durable goods. For example, our dryer started making an awful racket during operation. The decision to repair or replace would be simplified if the gov't offered a sizable tax credit. Hmm. Perhaps the gov't should take over Maytag and Amana, too...

In the end, even tax credits won't fix the real problem. The real answer is to increase our manufacturing capacity across all sectors and decrease our trade deficit. Well, gee, how do we do that? Unfortunately, that's another post involving corporate policy, NAFTA, and the prevailing political winds. For now, I'll say I know we can't continue on this sugar high of the Clunkers program. When it wears off, that'll be one doozy of a crash.