As I write this, our Congress is considering various ways to financially bail out the American auto industry. The approach Washington, DC is taking towards this humongous problem is similar to how most marriage counselors approach marital problems. Rather than address a problem’s source it is easier to address a problem’s symptoms.

The actual problem the automakers are having for instance, is that no one is buying their cars. If people started to buy their cars they would have cash flow and banks would start lending them money for future investment. The real problem that exists is that people aren’t buying cars because they don’t have enough money, credit or enough incentive. The government can cure two of these problems very easily.

1) The government can institute a tax credit to anyone who buys a domestically built car. If Congress passed such an incentive that reduced a families net income by 50% of the purchase price and allowed the person or family to take that credit over three years, there would be more people wanting to buy a car then there are cars available.
2) The government can set up a Fannie Mae type office for the purpose of guaranteeing auto loans based on certain flexible criteria.

But instead of getting right to the heart of the problem the government is dealing with a result of the problem, an ailing industry… Like an ailing marriage.

When you go to a marriage counselor you are not taught the basic requirements of being married. They try to treat with therapy something that should not even be occurring if not for breaking basic laws of marriage. It would be like using a frayed electrical cord over and over again while standing by with a first aid kit to treat the shock. When all you have to do is repair or replace the cord.

If you go to a marriage counselor, statistics show that 70% of you will be divorced within a year. The correct way to solve family issues is first by understanding the true relationship that exists between a husband and wife. Any approach that is indirect will likely fail. Being married is not like playing horseshoes, you don’t get points by being close enough. Rely on sound principles of marital happiness.

They work. All the time.

Don’t forget to tell your spouse and your children, “I love you.”