Posted on 07/30/2009 6:09:39 PM PDT by fight_truth_decay
The Obama administration is telling lawmakers that its much-touted "cash-for-clunkers" program is already running out of money and will be suspended Thursday night, according to three Senate aides familiar with the discussions.
The program — aimed at giving at boost to the U.S. auto industry — was supposed to expire at the end of October. But in the one week since it took effect, it appears to have run dry of the $1 billion allocated to it, aides said Thursday.
The White House will need to decide whether to push for more money at a time when it's also pushing an ambitious and expensive domestic agenda — or let the program fade after it was touted as a way to help Detroit while improving the environment.
One Michigan Republican, Congresswoman Candice Miller, has already come out in favor of extending the program, saying in a statement that “There can be no doubt that the Cash for Clunkers program is a complete success given the fact that the entire $1 billion allocated to the program was expended in less than a week."
She called the program "simply the most stimulative $1 billion the federal government has spent during the entire economic downturn."
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also called the program a victim of its own success in a statement issued Thursday night: "This was a very successful program, maybe even too successful. The program should continue, but perhaps with a tune-up so that we get the most stimulus, conservation and efficiency for the buck."
White House aides were not immediately available for comment. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administers the program, but no one was available for comment Thursday evening.
Last Friday, registration began for dealers who wanted to participate in the program, which is intended to encourage consumers to trade in their old cars for a credit program to purchase new fuel efficient cars. Under the rules that went into effect last week, the purchased vehicles must be 2008, 2009 or 2010 models, and the vehicles must be purchased between July and November to qualify. And consumers would be able to receive a $3,500-$4,500 discount from car dealerships when they trade in their old vehicles and purchase a new one.
But.. White House aides were not immediately available for comment.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who oversees the program, was unavailable for comment Thursday evening.
[Hmmm..aides in heavy attendance at the Beer Summit? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration busy collecting car keys?]
$18 million for a website and a billion dollars gone in a week.
You stupid Democrats, Obama is GREAT, right?
We just brought home a new car using our clunker.
Just wondering out loud...have any of these dealerships that took in qualifying cars as trade-ins actually gotten any money yet from FedGov?
I saw on Fox that some people were trading in some very nice cars. This raises the question what is worse for the environment. Getting rid of a perfectly good car and sending it to the scrap heap, or using that same car for many more years and get 10-30% worse fuel economy.
How much does anyone want to bet the real reason for the cancellation is that old GM cars were being traded in for non-GM cars? The governments’s parts business was getting killed as well as government new car sales.
IM seeing the dealer on Sat. morn. I BETTER get my $4500 DAMN IT!
Some dealers might wind up getting SCREWED because they aleady did the deals and yet the money might gone when their deals are processed.
I think Iheard on Cavuto the some people traded in for Lexus’
This is the best news of the day. Now we can write to our demcrat congressmen and senators and tell them HELL NO ON HEALTH CARE. It the can’t deal with old junk cars the they are not competent enough to have a Gov sponsored health care program..
Say no to Obama care as its another Cash for Clunkers program.
The gummint can have my clunker ... FMCDH.
And all the people who took advantage of this offer are a very sharp and well-off set, who play every angle for all it’s worth, and don’t let the grass grow under their feet.
I would like to see the percentage of the cars purchased under this program that are purchased for cash, which is another sign of a shrewd buyer.
I heard on the news this morning that no dealers here in Dallas have seen dollar One from the program yet. That might extend to the rest of the country, I don’t recall. If this program shuts down, a lot of dealers are likely to be out a LOT of money that they fronted, as per the program, to customers.
Just do the math. Assume an average rebate of $4K. One billion divided by $4,000 is 250,000 trade-in's. Do they mean that in a week or two of the programs existence there were 250,000 trade-in's?
"Printing money and destroying things that are valuable is terrible economic policy. Next thing you know, the government will be "buying" old homes (with monopoly money), and burning them down. ...."I'm reminded of FDR's programs to mass-slaughter livestock and burn wheat fields in order to prop up prices so the "economy would recover".
Here’s what we know: Through late Wednesday, 22,782 vehicles had been purchased through the program and nearly $96 million had been spent. (According to an AP Story).
Question, how many of these 22,782 vehicles were paybacks to union members? Wanna bet that it was known before hand that the cash for clunkers program would be shut down quickly? Any way we can get a list? Can we get a demographic or geographic breakdown?
WAKE UP AMERICA!
Obama and the democrats can’t even ‘run’ a simple program like this and you think they can run the banks,car companies, energy companies, insurance companies and HEALTHCARE?
Good grief!
The program is likely increasing the costs for non-qualifying buyers in the market for a more fuel-efficient car — because dealers can sell to Clunkers buyers for a higher dealer price. But why should someone trading an 18mpg car for a 25mpg car get a $4500 subsidy, while someone trading a 20mpg car for a 30mpg car gets nothing? And why should the 20mpg owner be taxed to subsidize the purchase of a possible competitor?
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