Cash for … Caulkers?

From Daniel T on December 23rd, 2009 in Remodeling News

You probably know about the government’s Cash for Clunkers program from earlier this year—government-sponsored rebates for turning in clunker cars. A new crop of cash-for-stuff ideas has been floating around in Congress and in the minds of innovative lawmakers. The Cash for Appliances program is quickly gaining ground, and there is a new one that hits real close to home, like your home’s walls. Some call it “Cash for Caulkers.” The proposal offers cash incentives for homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, through methods as simple as installing insulation or caulking up leaky seals.

Determining how to spend stimulus dollars in the most strategic way possible is the goal of lawmakers. One smart way to do so is by giving it back to the consumer for home improvement tasks, which would lead to energy efficiency, which would begin the money-saving, job-creating, energy-conserving cycle that the nation needs so badly. Here’s how the program would help:

Save energy. Who doesn’t want to save energy? Especially when saving energy equals saving money. Obama painted a very picturesque image of the situation during a recent speech: “If you saw $20 bills just sort of floating through the window up into the atmosphere, you’d try to figure out how you were going to keep that. But that’s exactly what’s happening because of the lack of efficiency in our buildings.” As homeowners make improvements as simple as new caulking around a window or additional insulation in an attic, they can have a visible improvement upon the efficiency of their home, not to mention the cost of their energy bill.
Boost spending. In order for the economy to function properly and grow adequately, people need to be spending money. But with the economy in shambles, few people are spending their hard-earned dollars, especially as jobs are scarcer. What to do? Give people money to spend. And tell them where to spend it. This could be one great way to light a little fire under the economy and warm it up a bit.
Create jobs. Here’s how it works. As home improvement stores get more business, they will need to bring in new hires. As construction firms and contracting companies get more requests for new jobs, they will also need to hire more personnel. That equals more jobs. With recent news of worsening job markets and woeful unemployment levels, additional jobs will breathe fresh air into the economy. By some estimates, a home improvement incentive program could create anywhere from 600,000 to 850,000 jobs in some of the sectors where jobs are needed most.
So far, the idea seems to be catching on. Environmental groups, labor unions, construction groups, building supply companies, manufacturing firms, politicians and a whole lot of homeowners are supporting the idea. You may just want to grease up that caulk gun. You could be using it soon.