And This Is Why…Updated
By Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy on July 31, 2009 at 7:15 PM in American Consumers, Auto Industry, Bailouts, Congress (House & Senate), Current Affairs, Democrats, Stimulus Plan
People are understandably wary about the government handling our health insurance. That would be the CLUNKER program. I trust you have heard about this? If not, here is a short review:
Okay. I can see some wisdom in that. It is great to get these old gas guzzlers off the road, recycle the vehicles, have people driving new, more efficient vehicles, and helping out the automobile industry. Not bad! Oh, but wait. Maybe it’s bad for the taxpayers, and those who have been more energy conscious all along:
Well, there’s a problem. Not to mention that many people will not be putting the money back into the AMERICAN automakers’ pocket, but foreign automakers who are making affordable, fuel efficient vehicles. So there is that.
But here’s a HUGE problem: The program is already broke. I am not kidding you. In FOUR days, the program has expended ALL of the money, $1 BILLION dollars, allocated to it. I guess that’s a good news/bad news kind of thing. It worked, but now the funds have gone * poof *! There’s hope, though:
A source told FOX News that senior Congressional leaders, the Obama administration and other lawmakers involved with the program are exploring potential options to either undertake administrative or possibly even Congressional action to infuse the program with cash.Lawmakers were examining whether there was a possible avenue to provide much-needed reserves for the program as early as Friday.
Rep. Ed Markey, D.- Mass., co-author of the cash for clunkers provision, pledged to work with the Obama administration to ensure the program continues.
“Cash for Clunkers may have run out of cash, but America’s consumers haven’t run out of clunkers. We’re going to work with the Obama administration to keep this wildly successful program going until it reaches its goal of helping consumers take 1 million gas guzzlers off the road,” he said.
Like I said, glad the program was successful for the consumers for all of four days.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t TOTALLY successful:
A survey of 2,000 dealers by the National Automobile Dealers Association found about 25,000 deals had not yet been approved by NHTSA, or nearly 13 trades per store. It raised concerns that with about 23,000 dealers taking part in the program, auto dealers may already have surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $1 billion program.“There’s a significant backlog of ‘cash for clunkers’ deals that make us question how much funding is still available in the program,” said Bailey Wood, a spokesman for the dealers association.
Alan Helfman, general manager of River Oaks Chrysler Jeep in Houston, said he was worried that the government wouldn’t pay for some of the clunker deals his dealership has signed because they aren’t far enough along in the process.
His dealership has done paperwork on about 20 sales under the clunker program, but in some cases the titles haven’t been obtained yet or the vehicles aren’t yet on his lot.
“There’s no doubt I’m going to get hammered on a deal or two,” Helfman said.
Oops. Sorry, dealers!
So the dealers are left holding the bag. They may get reimbursed, or they may not. Who knows?
But what does that say about how the government will manage HEALTH care?? That’s just a tad more serious for many, many people - getting in to see their doctors, or having surgery - than trading in an old car. Nice program and all, but if they cannot handle that without huge complications in the very first week, running out of money, how in the world can we trust them to do right by us in terms of our HEALTH?? Sure gives one pause, doesn’t it?
UPDATE: The House has just voted to give an additional $2 Billion to this program. Well, gosh - maybe it will last a whole week then, especially if you figure there are lots of dealers who haven’t been paid for the first four days…
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Ummm… can you say “economic stimulus”?
It isn’t if the dealers are shelling out a bunch of money for which they are not compensated. That will hurt them, thus hurt their employees. And, as noted above, many people are choosing to buy FOREIGN cars instead of American because they are more fuel efficient.
But hey - if it gets some of the gas guzzlers off the road, that’s something, and it is certainly better for the environment. That is no small thing.
There are other issues with this program, but the point is that the oversight and planning was sorely lacking, thus not boding well for programs as massive as gov’t run health care.
(Where have you been, UBM?
)
I admit to a lack of information on this provision, Rev Amy, so maybe that’s why I don’t understand the math.
Is the rebate $4,500/car? With 250,000 cars, the total is less than $12mil. Even if you assume the cost of setting up the program is equal to or greater than the amount of the rebates, several hundred millions are unaccounted.
GM and Chrysler received billions in TARP money, but in the videos you posted, nothing is said about this applying only to those and other US manufactures. Why is there a stipulation the “clunkers” have to be destroyed within a certain period of time? There will still be many clunkers on the road and where will mechanics get replacement parts for them?
This program feels like an open door to fraud. Getting the gas guzzling polluters off the road is a good thing, but if Detroit continues to make new ones, where is the profit?
Sorry. I posted this before reading the post below and I see tzada has made the same observations.
? I think you have typoed decimal place:
$4,500 x 250,000 = $1,125,000,000 (1.125 bn); there’s actually 125 million less than required to meet payouts
some payouts are $3500
You are right again nom. Sorry. I said I knew little of this program, but the number error was stupid.
The salvage dealers are not making the money they could normally make because the Gov requires that the motors be destroyed. Dealer won’t get paid unless they have been.
Back to the salvage yard. Poor people or frugal people who normally buy used car parts, now have less of them, because the salvage yards are having to crush them right away.
Dealers may lose. Salvage yard lose and so do poor or thrifty people.
Washington is who may get the stimulus. All the dislike and unrest and distrust they have stirred up, may give them indigestion. Maybe an ulcer. Maybe high blood pressure? When they get fired maybe they will be unable to get health care or a job.
A culture of incompetence, inexperience?
The rebate goes to the dealer not the buyer. The clunker is not recycled.
Um, no - the rebate goes to the CUSTOMER, but the dealer has to shell it out first, then get reimbursed by the government. If the program has already spent all of the money, the dealer could be out of a good bit of money fronting it for the gov’t. The $1 billion is already spent, which means a number of dealerships will lose cash on this.
The Senate has yet to vote on the House’s $2 billion addition. (This info is available at the NY Times article linked above, and a ton more if one does a search.)
And yes, the cars are recycled, as in taken to the scrap metal facility.
My sister was thinking about taking advantage of this program to get a new car and get rid of her “clunker,” but finally decided against it because it was just too sad for her to think of a perfectly good car being demolished when so many families are in need of transportation. It bothered her.
It’s kind of like the thought of perfectly good homes being demolished for economic reasons when so many families are homeless. It’s sad.
Also sad: the engines of the “clunkers” must be rendered totally useless by seizing them up with a glue-like substance before the dealership can be reimbursed. This means that wrecking yards will not be able to salvage the engines and sell them to customers who are trying to fix their cars. Waste!
Wow, oowawa - that is sad, on all points. Your sister’s point is well taken, as is yours. Thanks for that, and the info abt the engines. I’m just shaking my head at how crazy this all is…
Should have included this link, Rev. Amy. It’s the Drudge headline story and describes the process:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/dealers-race-to-get-their-clunkers-crushed/
i agree with this there has to be a better way.
GET OVER IT! It is not like the Great Depression when we were killing hogs, beef, chickens and destroying crops to rid the market place of inventory that could not be sold at any price and was driving farmers into black bankruptcy. This is about the only part of the stimulus that is going directly to consumers up front. You do not have to wait a year and claim a tax credit; you get help buying upfront. Also please note that most of the foreign car makers make their cars in the US that are sold in the US: Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, Volvo etc. Most of the cars and trucks being bought are made here. Even if they were not green cars, getting people into car dealerships and getting 3 billion $$$ pumped into the economic system is going to help. It is going to help real people, not Wall St. investment bankers and wheeler dealers. Since we live in a world economy, if it helps car manufacturers in other countries, it helps the world economy.
When you log in to “Cash for Clunkers” website you have consented without consent to
“Any or all uses of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized CARS, DoT, and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign.”
video here: http://countusout.wordpress.com/
Please Please Spread The Word
This is a jaw-dropper. Thanks for spreading the warning!
When I think things can’t get worse, the news reveals things have gotten worse. How many different ways can we bankrupt our country?
What’s next? I’m afraid to find out.
Hey..we already spent billions propping up the auto industry? Exactly where did all that money go?
They fired thousands, killed benefits, closed dealerships..so where is all the money we spent bailing out GM and Chrysler? Now we are paying Obama’s reelection bid by giving $4,500 to each and every person who has a junker? What about the ‘folks’ who already bought efficient cars? We are paying up front and up the ____because we already concerned ourselves and were good ‘folks’? How many ways can he steal our money and give it to the likes of ACORN stooges?
Excellent point - and yes, we propped up the auto industry with your tax dollars, and now your tax dollars are being given away as an incentive. Hence why in one of the videos, Lauren Fix was saying this plan discriminates against a lot of people, including those of us who already HAVE gas efficient vehicles.
and those for whom even $4,500 will not enable them to afford a new car because they still will not qualify for a loan on the other $10,000 or so.
I am thinking this “deal” will be preparatory to a tax on people with less fuel efficient cars (often the very poor).
Of course the real intent of the program may just be to get all those older cars without black boxes and gps tracking systems off the road.
Amy said:
“But here’s a HUGE problem: The program is already broke.”
No argument there. But the whole, frigging system is broke.
How nice that the US Congress can scare up an additional $2 billion to fund a “love-it, can’t get enough free stuff” program.
But the sh*t is about to hit the fan and the public, financing that new vehicle, is going to be sorely depressed when the Government can no longer keep the lullabyes in tune.
Please, read Karl Denninger’s recent post: The GDP in Pictures: The Truth. Yes, I know he’s a mean, old Republican. I’m a Democrat, but the man knows numbers and he’s been blowing the bugle for two years. You don’t believe his numbers? Look them up for yourself. Then look at the graph, a visual representation taken straight from the BEA’s [Bureau of Economic Analysis] report and compare this to Obama’s press conference this morning.
Rainbows and unicorns.
The evidence is hiding in plain sight. Denniger provides a visual that we can all understand.
This is not good news, not even close. And what do we get?
Green shoots and happy talk until tomorrow. We’re being played, big time.
But the number axe is going to fall on many, many heads. Numbers do not lie, only the people massaging them.
Hey RRRAmy, OT, did you see http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-07-31-methodist-gay_N.htm
Back to the topic plus. How well will the government manage anything, but hell they’re not alone. We’re out of luck, we’re out of common decency… Wall Street, banks, insurance companies, automakers, corporations too big to fail and corporations too greedy to care have deliberately mismanaged their businesses and shown their incompetence so that we have become a corporate welfare state. In the midst of record-breaking losses and bailouts the corporate welfare queens are driving cadillacs and are paid huge bonuses. Then you take the government and you rightfully note they are likewise not able to act responsibly with money too. Corporations own Obama and most of the members of Congress. We’re out of luck because they are all obsessively greedy idiots. I read an interesting article on another way our nation is going to eventually break Three Good Reasons To Liquidate Our Empire and 10 Ways to Do It By Chalmers Johnson, Tomdispatch.com
Hey, CG - No, I hadn’t seen that yet. I wish I could say I was surprised, but as you may already know, the UMC has put several of its ministers on trial for being lesbian, and defrocked them. I wish this was years and years ago, but it’s not (I wrote a post abt this some time back). Sad, truly sad.
Thanks for the comment, too.
ccwarrior, thanks for the alert on cars.gov. I’ll have a post on that tomorrow. For some reason, it got stuck in the spam filter. If you do not see your comment in a timely fashion, let us know, and we’ll get it out. If you keep resending it, we have to delete it which tells the Spam Filter that it’s on the right path.
Oh - and for some reason, the Spam Filter does NOT like the use of “Idiot” in any variation. You can cuss up a storm as long as you don’t use that word.
I just found this…
So RRRAmy, the COMEDY GOLD highlight for Digby is the Secretary of State drinks Mad Bitch. She’s so kewl.
The link below offers commentary and shows the You Tube version of the video http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/the_washington_posts_prioritie_1.php, however the video has been removed from You Tube (Washington Post video gone too).
Sigh. To quote Cornel West, “we have a long way to go.”
The context was abt treatment of LGB people after someone said something assholic to me in one of West’s classes, but I think it is appropriate here…
You were in Dr. West’s class? At Princeton, Harvard or Yale? I’ve read several of his books. Before you were born there were Virginia Slims commercials touting “You’ve come a long way, baby [libertated woman now has a cigarette designed for a woman].” Cornel West is right, whether women able to break the highest glass ceiling, women being respected (even by their ’sisters’), genuine LGB progress or legitimate racial progress, sadly “we have a long way to go,” my sisters, my brothers.
I really like the part about how they’re buying foreign cars. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Considering that our government just invested heavily into GM & Chrysler. No offense to those who like the idea of buying cars from the Japanese, Koreans, or Europeans, but where the hell is the logic of it? On top of knowing that the money they’re sloshing around is borrowed, and knowing that getting our auto industry back on solid footing would put people in this country back to work, don’t you think the folks who warm the seats in congress and dingaling who’s camping out at the white house would figure that out and put a few strings on their largess? Oh, yeah, I forgot, we don’t do that here, not even with bankers and Wall Street. Excuse me a minute while I go outside and scream.
The way in which car dealers are using this has been quite weird from what I have been hearing.
Dealers are adveristing cars at low prices saying that is after rebates, yet many dont think of the “Clunker” program being involved.
Interested party goes in sees car loves car and then finds out deal meant clunker discount too.
Peggy Sue, I admire and respect Karl Denninger, and I read his Market Ticker blog every day. I can’t say I “love” him–he’s not exactly the kind of guy you can snuggle up to, but he’s a relentless pit-bull when it comes to the economic big picture. The big surprise to me is that in one of his “tickers” he admits to supporting Obama (probably because he was so disgusted with W and distrusted McCain). Well, he’s certainly changed his tune about O. Right now, there’s a dark cloud over my head and it follows me around, and he fits my mood: very pessimistic about the economic outlook.
Sorry–neglected to nest this reply to Peggy Sue’s comment above.
I know where you’re coming from, oowawa. Black clouds are flying with me as well :0).
And I’m generally an optimist.
And yes, I was surprised to learn that Denninger had supported and voted for Obama. Maybe his pit bull stance is his personal attempt at redemption. Then again, I think your assumption is probably right: Bush & Co left a bad taste in the mouths of most reasonable people.
Let’s face it, we weren’t offered the greatest choice in 2008.
And I hate being so pessimistic. But my reality bell keeps sounding again and again when the spiel the government media keeps pushing and the numbers don’t add up. And they simply don’t. That not only makes me feel depressed but angry that we’re being lied to day after day after day.
And, of course, you’re right. Denninger is hardly the teddy bear type. A curmudgeon at best. But the man has his finger on the number pulse. And in the end, that’s really what will determine all our futures.
Hope ain’t going to get us out of this debt/credit crisis. Nor will the empty happy talk or cash for clunkers. I have the awful feeling that a complete crash is a fait accompli. Then it won’t matter what party we support.
Yes, but that is not the worst of it! Have any of you seen this??? Scary, shocking, sickening!
http://countusout.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/shocking-alert-cash-for-clunkers-website-when-logged-on-to-the-cars-system-your-computer-is-considered-a-federal-computer-system-and-is-the-property-of-the-u-s-government
HOLY SHIT - are you KIDDING ME WITH THIS??? Oh, wow. That is breathtaking, and NOT in a good way.
Thanks for this. I’ll put it up tomorrow, by itself, so people can see this.
In the meantime, NO ONE should go to the cars.gov website.
WOW.
I would really like to know how one can find out WHY this “terms of use” was done in this manner and WHO the hell in upper management signed off on this???
Time to get the congress involved.
question; does that mean if after visiting the site and “agreeing to give away” my constitutional 4th amendment rights, I wipe my hard drive does that mean the Gov can invade my PC in perpetuity?
What other examples of this kind of BS are there?
This raises so many questions.
I’m glad you’ll post this tomorrow, RRRA. Everyone needs to know this!
Thanks for the link and the warning, politicalidentitycrisis.
EGADS!!!!
I’ve been watching Glenn Beck religiously for w while now. Some think he’s crazy, but I think he is a brave patriot! I saw this on his show today and my 14 year old son was watching, too, and we both were shocked and said “Oh, my God!” at the same time. If this doesn’t scare people about our Government, then nothing will!
Please become a watchdog with Glenn. He will be talking about this on Monday!
WoW…”Change you can Believe In”
Check out the Spending Action..
Barack calls it “Spreading the wealth..
a Car Czar Plan to eleminate OLD GUZZLERs..
A Health Care Plan to eleminate OLD GEEZERS..
A “Stimilus Plan” to Pretend Obama is Spreading
the Borrowed wealth so he can “Feel Good”
A Plan to tax the wealthy until we are “Classless”
a Plan to make sure everyone becomes an “Acorn”..
Followed by “Reeducation Programs” to Eleminate..
“Stupid Decisions..”
OBAMA….101
Love this. So funny Patrick!
My guitar gently weeps.
TEAK…
You oughta write a 60’s type Song about all this
Evolution revolution..
“Hiway to Hell”..
I just wrote one for my Local band I adopted..
they are Against Drug Use..
I Called it “Mething With Hell..”
Every other garage and Storage Unit around this county is a Meth Lab..Half the people on the Streets are “Tweakin and Twitchin..”
Bad and Sad…
Sure Glad Obama got Chicago Cleaned Up…Now there is a Model City…that he can Be Proud of…
I hear all thse Guzzler Cars have to have thier Engines destroyed by Running them until tehy Blow Up…and then The dealers will send them to locations where thery will all be scrapped…just like Our militarys used ammo brass has to be sent to The People Republic of Communist China..
Gee, do I think Tiawan and South Korea need to worry…maybe even Japan…
Naw…Barack (Barry) Obama is Guarding the Gate..
Write that song TEAK…then Drive your Chevy to the Levy..before the MUSIC DIES…
Teak..
Put your song on to a video so we can see it..
PLEEZE…
What ever happened cto OLDGRUMPYGUY…??
Old Grumpy Guy was fun. Here is his website:
http://www.bernardjtaylor.com/
And they are giving loans to people who might not be able to afford it- especially if they get laid off in a few months. Now they will have a new car payment too and along with that higher insurance and fees.
Denise, that is my thought exactly! What’s wrong with driving something you can afford? A few more dollars per fill-up in gas costs does not equate to the insurance and car payments on a new car.
This is yet another boondoggle for big industry at the expense of the little guy.
Oh, and good luck if you’re poor and want to buy a used car for less than $4,500. Obamao just priced you out of the market.
Same if you’re trying to sell a used car. TOO BAD. Cash for Clunkers only works if you buy a new car from a dealer. Trying to sell your clunker to a private party? Ha ha ha ha
Same if you’re trying to buy parts for a used car … So SAD. Prices going up. Smashed parts can’t be sold.
Not to mention the incredible waste of encouraging people to turn in cars that are perfectly operable so they can be SMASHED to smithereens.
It’s sick. That’s all it is.
Now I am not exactly good at math but how does a program that is funded to cover 250,000 cars magically fund the goal of 1,000,000 cars with the same amount of cash?
I agree with the environmentalists. Buying a vehicle that merely gets 4 miles more per gallon is a pittance. It accomplishes what in the grand scheme of things? But it sure makes it seem as if the government is doing something to help ordinary Americans. Like they really care. Typical smoke and mirrors nonsense. And in the end it is we the taxpayers that are funding this bailout. All of us.
In my less than humble opinion this is a waste of government resources, resources that would be better spent actually stimulating the economy rather than a sagging auto-industry that deserves not to sell it’s products.
If you would like to see another example of government waste in action just take a look at this. Stimuless: Faking the big O
And these folks want our trust to run the health care industry. Sheesh!
These are the same gang of thieves that want to run health care? Check please.
Funny! and Harp, my father who was a proud veteran of WWII, asked us, his family, to NEVER EVER put him in a V.A. Hospital!! As we all know, they are notoriously bad……..and a good example of healthcare in the hands of government.
RRRAmy,
The Washington Post within the last moments has pulled Ménage à Stella Artois from Mouthpiece Theater: Washington’s the Stage, which is Dana Millbank’s and Chris Cilizza’s video commentary for today, referring to Obama’s beer summit. In it they say
“Clinton would drink mad bitch ale.”
Don’t you just love Beltway media sexist attitude? The link I saved earlier for the video now launches into last week’s video that disparages Palin.
CG, what is telling is that it was allowed to go up in the FIRST place. Millbank and Cilizza are sorry excuses for journalists, that’s for sure.
It is just this level of blatant sexism to which we have been subjected , especially as it has been directed at Hillary.
And why do these two still have their jobs??? Why is it still okay to say the most misogynistic things abt women without fear of comeuppance? Grrrr.
RRRAmy I accidently posted a response to you in the wrong comment box above, however I’ll repeat this much http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/the_washington_posts_prioritie_1.php
Sorry about that…
Sick. Sick. Sick.
People have lost their minds. Nobody would dare say the things about a black person that they feel perfectly ok saying about women (especially Hillary and Sarah — who DARED to think they could run for high office in this fucking sexist country).
I’ll say it again: For women in politics, it’s still Jim Crow.
equal but separate in this case
Regarding:http://countusout.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/shocking-alert-cash-for-clunkers-website-when-logged-on-to-the-cars-system-your-computer-is-considered-a-federal-computer-system-and-is-the-property-of-the-u-s-government
Cash for Clunkers Gov. Website gives Govt. Ownership of Your Computer.Glenn Beck had a live demo on his tv program today, Using his laptop, he accessed the website CARS.gov The website requires user to click on “accept” for a disclaimer. If you click “ok” it says in fine print that your computer is now considered the property of the Federal Government, including all content on your computer, and gives access to both the US and foreign governments. Scary indeed!
When I first heard about the plan, I paid attention because my car is 17 years old and has 247,000 miles on it. I cannot afford a new car, and just pray each year that I will have my car yet another year. Well, my car would qualify EXCEPT that I get good mileage. It is not so much cash for clunkers as cash for gas guzzlers. Those cars were expensive to begin with. So this plan is helping people with some money, and who did not care about fuel efficiency in the first place. When the time comes, I will probably look for a used car, or go without a car. (My son has had to go without a car since he could not afford another one when his broke down. Now he is in great shape from riding a bike everywhere. It is the fastest form of transportation in the city.)This plan was just a shot in the arm to the car dealers and helped some people, who had the money, to get a new car. It will not make a dent in the gas or pollution problems.
Fran:
As a Volvo 240 owner, I know your pain. But as pointed out upstream, I don’t imagine that all of those driving away in the clunker tradeups are in any more position to pay the payments than, say, the Fannie/Freddie folks were. Watch your dealerships “used car” lots in six months or so when the next wave of ARM adjustments kicks in. Americans are living for today and not particularly interested in the future. The 0bama way.
And the stories keep coming. The EPA recently has changed the mileage ratings of thousands of cars. Making them ineligible for the program and negating some deals already completed.
h/t Flopping Aces
http://www.floppingaces.net/2009/07/31/cash-for-clunkers-headaches-should-give-americans-reason-to-be-wary-of-govt-run-health-care/
~~~~~
“First, the Environmental Protection Agency magically recalculated the miles per gallon it estimates many older cars get. Suddenly people whose cars met the previous standard no longer do.
EPA’s move has caused confusion and headaches:
From CNN: In some cases, car buyers say, dealers are backing out of sales they’ve already made because the EPA changed the fuel economy figures on their trade-in.
“My wife just received a call from the sales manager saying that our clunker doesn’t qualify anymore, and that we could either pay the extra $4,500 or return the new car (and get our old car back),” Greg Straka wrote Tuesday on a message board at the Edmunds.com… automotive Web site.”
~~~~~
Link to the article…
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/daily-news/090728-EPA-Mileage-Changes-Wreck-Some-Cash-for-Clunkers-Deals/
Cash for Clunkers amusement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EFJgIN1abY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Ftherealbarackobama.wordpress.com%2F&feature=player_embedded
[...] is really frightening. And it is important information as a follow-up to my post about the “Cash for Clunkers” program (major H/T to NQ reader, Politicalidentitycrisis for this [...]
This is why we CANNOT give the federal government any more power to the purse than they already have. These are people who either never ran a business or don’t care.
If a hotel chain started a cash incentive program for a year for people staying at their hotel they would have to budget the money. And there would have to be an ROI on that incentive program. Suppose the budget approved ran out after only a month, what do you think the career length of that manager who proposed that plan would be?
In the cash for clunkers, morons like Chuckie Schumer or Ed Markey prove that higher education is not an indicator of intelligence. If they canot remotely project what the budget for this should be how legitimate are their projections for healthcare reform? And, since we, as taxpayers, are doling out this money for clunkers, what do we get for that money, what is the ROI?
You guys are losing it. The purpose of this program is like the German program it was modeled on—to stimulate consumer buying of new cars and trucks #1 and get rid of older cars #2. New cars are better for the environment in many ways—emissions, battery contents, more efficient oil use, some improvement in gas mileage etc. Newer cars are also safer. I don’t know what you expect but this is about the only program that directly subsidizes the consumer—not Wall St, investment bankers or any of the other big guys. WE NEED MORE PROGRAMS WHERE TAXPAYER $$$ ARE GOING DIRECTLY TO THE CONSUMER WHO PAYS THOSE TAXES IN THE FIRST PLACE.
This is the kind of program China used for its stimulus and its GDP is roaring back while ours sits in the muck.
The Glen Beck/government invasion of privacy is a different and disturbing issue and it effects the car dealer and his computer system, not the individual. That is bad for car dealers directly and indirectly for the consumer because if the car dealer has consumer info in his computer, then the government has access to it. This is bad. This is the Obama/Bush government invasion of privacy run amok. I hope it drives Obama’s poll numbers down another 5 points. But the Cash for Clunkers I think is about the only good thing for us consumers/taxpayers happening today. And if its run poorly then make Obama take responsibility.
A good lesson about unintended consequences.
Is this really going to make a difference in the environment????
http://www.examiner.com/x-17827
Supporters of the Car Allowance Rebate System, the official name of the program, claim that a major component of the project is to reduce carbon emissions and to populate our roads with more fuel-efficient vehicles. No surprisingly, this program will not move us any closer to environmental sustainability as the number of new vehicles sold will ultimately be inconsequential compared to the number of cars and trucks on our roads. Although the president and congressional Democrats will market this program as an important step toward energy efficiency and environmental awareness, neither of these conditions will actually be realized. To qualify for the incentive, a consumer need only purchase a newer vehicle which is one mile per gallon more efficient than the trade-in. Other supporters of “cash for clunkers” assert that our economy needs government intervention to stave off an even greater downturn. Yet, despite what its proponents would like us to believe, this program does not produce anything. Conversely, “cash for clunkers” merely takes from one segment of the economy and transfers it to another. Everyone who takes advantage of this program does so by taking something from someone else.
Brian Mark Weber is a professor of United States History at American Military University and professor of English at Anne Arundel Community College. For more information, you are invited to visit http://www.brianmarkweber.com.
The oldest a car can be is a 1990 model. Even then, it may not qualify based on the mpg.
What would have been a smarter idea is that any car-regardless of the year- could be traded in for a better mpg provided that the ratio of old to new was improved by a designated amount.
I heard a report on one radio program that the Clunkers, which were at one time driveable and could be used for salvage, that are turned in are subjected to the following government mandated treatment:
The engine is filled with a sodium salicate solution, which is a liquid below 200 degrees F. When the car engine is started this material turns into a glass like-material, rendering the engine permanently unuseable. Then the vehicles must be buried or otherwise destroyed. However, this solution has been reported to be a carcinogen which will then be able to enter the ground water. What kind of goofy program is this?
Environmental Awareness Training…
Maybe, but I’m not sure it’for everyone….