Ray LaHood, you're doing a heck of a job ...
Posted on 07/31/2009 1:27:21 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- While the Cash for Clunkers program is being hailed as a success, having apparently burned much or all its of its billion dollar budget in a matter of days, some analysts doubt the program will amount to much in the long run.
Even with more funding, the resulting boost in auto sales will amount to little more than a temporary reprieve, said Gary Dilts, an auto analyst with J.D. Power and Assoc.
"$2 billion will buy you another piece of a month," he said, "it would buoy August into a reasonable month."
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Ray LaHood, you're doing a heck of a job ...
I’d be willing to bet the fraud and abuse of the “Obama clunker” program would dwarf the waste of taxpayer dollars we saw during the Katrina fiasco.
Get that damn clunker out of the White House!
And my own personal protest against The Spineless One? I traded in my 2009 Camry for a 2009 4Runner!!!! I don’t give a crap if gas goes to $5 a gallon, it feels good being back in an SUV....Libs? Bite Me!
Besides, Hussein really had no intention of putting so many taxdollars back into the pockets of actual taxpayers...at least, not those who weren’t big contributors to his plans to become dictator-for-life!
$2B will add $2B to the national debt, a "small" consideration compared to the fact that obama and Pelosi are adding $2T to the debt this year, but still real money that our children will have to pay back if the country survives.
That $2B will allow the car companies to sell to the public at a higher price, since it's essentially a government subsidy of the purchase. It looks like about 2/3 of the money goes to the dealer in the form of a $3k higher sales price per car, while the customer gets only about $1.5k of the subsidy.
These are not people who have cars they intended to keep forever but are now buying a car so their purchase will boost the economy. They include people who planned on buying a car anyways and are taking our tax dollars to do something they would have done without the program, plus those who would have bought a car in the next year or so anyways. In other words, we're shifting economic transactions from the next two years into the present. That means we'll have a reduced demand for new cars over teh next couple of years because that demand stream has been shifter forward in time.
All in all, I don't see much positive in "Cash for Clunkers" beyond good PR for obama among those people who have no understanding of economics. As for our country, the program is entirely negative. We are spending more than a resource is worth (otherwise poeple would not accept the $4500), and getting nothing at all beyond a debt and the cost of trashing the "dead" car.
On a related note, this does seem to be Standard Democrat Operating Procedure: Whether you're an old person who would be expensive to treat, an old car that they don't want around, or a baby who would just be a punishment, they see no down side to getting rid of whatever they don't want. They're evil, but at least they are not terribly bright.
If we just took the $1 billion and divided it up between everyone who actually paid income tax last April 15th it would have made a lot bigger difference.
At best, given the $4,500 per car available, if the full billion was available for these credits, that would only be 222,222 cars turned in. Hell, I’ve seen folks who have half that in their front yards.
LOL,
So much for the “we’re reducing carbon emissions and saving the planet” story line from earlier. Somebody should tell this Gary he’s not using the correct talking points.
Psst, Gary, you’re not supposed to mention boosting auto sales. You’re supposed to be talking about saving Kermit by buying GRRREEEENNNNNN. Do get with the program or under the Prius you go.
Another thing to recall about the “Cash for Clunkers” program is how it hurts the poor. The program will take these “clunkers” off the street and give them to the government to destroy. But these are precisely the kinds of cars that poor or fixed-income people tend to purchase. Most of these “clunkers” are of course in fine shape, but they are not “green” enough according to government determinations. So poor people who cannot afford to purchase new, government-approved (and thus artificially expensive) automobiles will be told to “go take a hike” – literally!
The government having melted down these “clunkers,” the market in low priced used cars will dry up, thus driving up cost and further hurting poor and working people as well as seniors and others on fixed income. Grandma who just needs a cheap old car to get down to the pharmacy for her prescriptions will thus be forced to walk or hire a cab, as the finance companies will take a look at her social security income and say “next!”
Cash for clunkers is an attack on the poor for the benefit of government-connected Big Auto big-wigs and GMAC-style bankster/moneylenders. As with most government programs, the poor get the short end of the stick.
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