Finally, a bailout idea that helps individuals and not just Big Business.

The Senate on Tuesday added a worthy provision to the economic stimulus bill that would allow most Americans to deduct the sales tax and loan interest on the purchase of a new car.

The provision is expected to cost the government $11 billion in lost tax revenue. But it could help spur car sales and give skittish buyers an incentive to hit the showroom.

The Senate passed the measure proposed by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., by a vote of 71 to 26. She said it would save families about $1,500 on the purchase of a $25,000 car. (The purchase would have to take place between Nov. 8, 2008, and the end of this year.)

The measure is much needed by the struggling auto industry, which has seen car sales evaporate as the recession deepens.

Auto sales plummeted to a 27-year low in January — down 37 percent compared with the same period last year.

Even China sold more cars than the United States in January — the first time the Asian nation has surpassed us. Detroit's Big Three automakers were hit the hardest, with sales at Chrysler off 55 percent.

Ford's sales were down 39 percent, and General Motors was off 49 percent. It was the worst January for sales at GM since 1963.

The federal government has already given billions of dollars in bailout funds to Chrysler and General Motors. Ford hasn't taken the tax dollars, despite the tough times.

The Senate's proposed incentives on car sales would strike the right balance by preserving jobs in the auto industry while providing a financial tax break for average car buyers.

Given all of the attention devoted to corporate bailouts, Wall Street bonuses, and Washington tax cheats, it's about time that average consumers got something.

8212; The Philadelphia Inquirer

- - - Improves Americans' health? Check. Has bipartisan support? Check. Pays for itself? Check.It still boggles the mind why President Bush so vigorously opposed the State Children's Health Insurance Program to bring health care to 4 million uninsured kids. Talk about no child left behind.With the stroke of a pen Wednesday, President Obama made that a bad memory, authorizing $35 billion over the next five years to provide essential care for needy children.A 62-cent-per-pack increase in the federal tax on cigarettes will pay for the expanded care. If a few people give up smoking as a result, all the better.Comprehensive health care reform is still far off. But beginning today, we are doing the right thing by 4 million of America's uninsured, offering them access to checkups and medical care — something all parents want, and should have, for their children.

— San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News