August 1, 2008 9:56 AM

Make Energy the Focus of a Second Stimulus Package

With the unemployment rate hitting a four year high, and the stimulus effects of the tax rebate checks diminishing, it is time to do more. Without question, the focus should be on energy costs. Alan Blinder has a great proposal - Cash for Clunkers - to purchase the oldest gas guzzlers. This should allow people to accelerate swapping gas guzzlers for newer fuel efficient cars and save money right now.

And of course, taxing some small amount of Exxon's $11.7 billion quarterly profits and using that to provide energy rebates is also a good idea.