And yes, it’s quite possible that government rebates today will steal car sales from next year. But let’s cross that bridge next year when the bull market recovery will hopefully be stronger.

Right about now you’re probably saying, “Well, why not just spend another $100 billion and give consumers checks for everything?” Or, “Why not spend another trillion?” Well, I don’t want to go there. Just this one cash-for-clunker program — that’s all I want. Fund it again for a couple of billion dollars more.

I mean, look, if I had my way, that trillion-dollar stimulus plan from President Obama would have gone to a six- or twelve-month tax holiday for everyone. But alas, that’s not how the political ball bounced. At least for the clunkers, there’s a plan that has caught the public’s imagination and makes for a reasonable amount of economic success.

So I invite my Republican friends in the Senate and my conservative friends everywhere to push for the clunkers.