39 YEARS
S O UTHWESTEDITI ON
AUTOBODY AZ / AR / CO / LA / NM / OK / TX / UT
U.S. Deficit 60.7% Higher Than This Time Last Year by Bethany Blankley, The Center Square
The federal deficit in the first three months of the b ud get y ear is 6 0 . 7 % higher than over the same time p eriod as last y ear, a record - b reak ing $ 5 7 2 . 9 b illion. The deficit surged as a result of C ongressional sp end ing of $ 3 . 5 trillion in 2 0 2 0 in resp onse to the coronavirus, although critics note that sp end ing on p ork b arrel p rograms that had nothing to d o w ith the virus increased and also drove the deficit. A t the same time, revenue d eclined b ecause of ongoing state lock d ow ns.
The Treasury D ep artment reports that the deficit is $21 .3 billion higher than the same O ctob er- D ecemb er p eriod in 2 0 1 9 . A record in sp end ing f or the p eriod rep resented an 1 8 . 3 % increase of $ 1 . 3 8 trillion, w hile at the same time revenues f ell 0 . 4 % to $ 8 0 3 . 3 7 b illion. I n the month of D ecemb er alone, w hen C ongress p assed , and P resid ent Donald T rump signed several spending bills, the deficit reached a record $ 1 4 3 . 6 b illion. The shortf all f or the 2 0 2 0 b ud get y ear, w hich end ed S ep t. 3 0 , reached an all- time high of $ 3 . 1 trillion. See U.S. Deficit, Page 10
‘Who Pays for What’ Survey: About 2 in 5 Shops Itemizing Diagnostic Time Separately from Scanning M ore than a third of shop s ( 3 9 % ) itemiz e on invoices the d iagnostic lab or time they sp end researching d iagnostic troub le cod es ( D TC s) ap art f rom the charge f or the vehicle scan itself , accord ing to j ust- released results f rom a “ W ho P ay s f or W hat? ” survey . A mong the more than 5 0 0 shop s resp ond ing to the survey ’ s new q uestions related to d iagnostic time, ab out half ack now led ged never having includ ed an itemiz ed charge f or d iagnostic time. B ut among those that d o, ab out three in 1 0 ( 2 9 % ) say they are p aid
“ alw ay s” or “ most of the time” f or the charge b y the largest eight auto insurers, and the maj ority ( 5 5 % ) say they are p aid at least “ some of the time. ” M ike A nderson of C ollision A d vice, w hich cond ucts the “ W ho P ay s” survey s in conj unction w ith C R A S H N etw ork , b elieves those numb ers w ill grow b ecause d iagnostic time is b ecoming an increasingly significant portion of collision repair w ork . “I know firsthand how much time it tak es to research and troub le-
Vol. 39 / Issue 2 / February 2021
2009 redux? Biden cites ‘urgent’ need for his $1.9 trillion stimulus by Philip Wegmann, RealClearWire
The economy w as b ad , and the W hite H ouse p lanned to go b ig. O n the d ay the mammoth $ 8 0 0 b illion R ecovery A ct b ecame law , how ever, the new p resid ent took care to stress how his ad ministration w ould k eep a close ey e on every d ollar going out the d oor. This task of p rovid ing oversight, B arack O bama announced at the b ill’ s 2 0 0 9 signing ceremony , w ould go to Joe B iden. “ To y ou, he’ s M r. V ice P resid ent, ” O b ama q uip p ed to a room that includ ed more than one sk ep tical R e-
p ub lican law mak er. “ B ut around the W hite H ouse, w e call him the sheriff.” I n a f ew d ay s, the country w ill call him M r. P resid ent. A d ecad e later, B id en conf ronts a d eep er economic crisis, this one b rought on b y a glob al p and emic, and the incoming ex ecutive has p rop osed a $ 1 . 9 trillion stimulus p ack age meant to b uoy f amilies and communities and small b usinesses as his ad ministration p ushes to step up d istrib ution of the coronavirus vaccines. All that old sheriff has to do See $1.9 trillion stimulus, Page 14
American Honda Motor Launches New Certification Program by Stacey Phillips
N early six y ears ago, American H ond a M otor launched the P roF irst C ertified Body Shop rogram. Many were sk ep tical ab out ob taining O E M certifications, according to R ossana A lv arez , assistant manager of collision certification and parts marketing for A merican H ond a M otor.
See ‘Who Pays for What’, Page 12
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O ver time, she said , shop ow ners began to realize the benefits of certification for their businesses and momentum b egan to b uild . I n resp onse to f eed b ack A merican H ond a M otor has received f rom shop s across the country , the O E M has taken steps to update its certified
collision p rogram. A s a result, the H ond a and A cura Certified Collision rogram will rep lace the P roF irst p rogram d uring a grad ual transition throughout 2 0 2 1 . “ The automotive ind ustry continues to mak e technological ad vances at b reak neck sp eed , highlighting the need f or rep air shop s to b e f ully eq uip p ed and trained w ith access to necessary rep air p roced ures to cond uct a saf e and p rop er rep air, ” said A lvarez . “ O E M collision certifications are no longer simp ly p op ular; they are essential. The d ay s of them b eing consid ered a f ad are long gone. ” A lvarez said the collision ind ustry is rap id ly changing and it w as imp ortant f or the H ond a team to k eep p ace. “As O M certification programs continue to gain traction w ith other sectors of the ind ustry , the immed iate recognition b y those entities and our H ond a and A cura vehicle customers becomes exponentially beneficial See New Certification Program, Page 18
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