Need a new policy idea?

In the US Congress, it looks as though they look across the Atlantic to our own Galumphin' Gordon Brown for inspiration. This might look a bit like getting your chat-up lines from Benny Hill, but it seems that even the salary and perks of a congressman aren't enough to attract candidates who can come up with ideas of their own.

When we first heard the phrase "cash for clunkers," we thought the reference was to a Congressional pay raise. Alas, no, it is the bright idea out of Congress to pay Americans to turn in their old cars so they'll go out and buy a new one. As columnist George Will recently observed, this isn't as insane as the New Deal policy of slaughtering pigs to raise pork prices, but it's close enough for government work.

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