Larry’s officially lost it.
I expect better of Kudlow.
Just because cash for clunkers is better than the myriad other forms of government waste doesn’t stop it from being government waste.
What an idiot.
Uh, oh. Has Larry resumed his coke habit?
To those who agree with “Cash For Clunkers”, may I offer the words of Samuel Adams:
“If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”
What does anybody expect to happen when all these people realize they now have a new big car payment each month? Won’t something else suffer? I am pretty sure that money can’t be respent. The money going for the new car payment will necessitate buying less of something else.
It's not just another welfare-type transfer program.
Oh, yes it is a transfer program - from my taxpayer pocket to a car buyer. And its a total waste, as the engine is destroyed (as opposed to parting it out to stimulate other auto side industries).
If you want to stimulate the economy and bury the country in debt why not put the money in the hands of the American consumers.They are the people who stimulate the economy.There would be “NO” economy without the people to even speak of.The last people on earth that deserve a bailout are the people on wall street who sat behind their desk and robbed people/towns/cities and countries of their wealth from all over the world.That’s why the Asians call wall street “SUCKER STREET”.
What a steaming pile of totally unmitigated garbage:
Totally ignores the massive unintended consequences for used car and auto repair businesses. Totally ignores the unintended consequences for charities that are funded by selling donated used cars. Totally ignores that a LOT of the talk concerns how badly off the govt was with their cost estimates. Totally ignores that this is an example of govt picking winners, not the market, which is classic statism/fascism/marxism. Totally ignores that most clunkers are US made, which will hurt the US parts industry, while most new cars purchased under the program are foreign made (to the degree that the Big Three are really US manufacturers and Honda - with factories all over the US - is a foreign manufacturer, which is debateable.)
As I said, a steaming pile of totally unmitigated garbage.
I find myself in the very uncomfortable position of being in the market for a new truck, as my current one’s transmission bit the dust and it’s just not worth sinking repair money into because the rest of the truck isn’t far behind.
And I want some of my &^%$!*> tax money back.
What to do... what to do...
And thanks to taking all these good used "clunkers" out of the market, we can expect them to go even higher, outpricing people's ability to own one.
Larry Kudlow should know better.
Kudlow can’t be this stupid. It’s bad enough he works for CNBC.
“As a free-market capitalist who does not believe in artificial spending..”
Yeah, you do believe in it. So please don’t label yourself as a free-market capitalist anymore. Ok?
And the price tag of the program is a mere $2 billion compared with the trillions of dollars Washington has been wasting...
Exactly how many cars were purchased for that $2 billion? How much government overhead per deal?
The biggest trade out there seems to be selling the Ford Explorer and buying the Ford Focus.
What happens to the Ford Explorer? Who owns it? How much to destroy it?
Now, I wouldn't want the government to pass out free money for everything. But in this particular case, the cash-for-clunkers rebate program is working...
So government intervention in the free market is good some of the time? Are you a Neo-Free Marketer Larry?
Yes, but the money being used on the program was being wasted anyway. I think I read that the infusion of the new 2 billion is coming from funds set aside for “renewable energy”, which means it was already being wasted. At least “cash for clunkers” helps stimulate some sales.
Um...that's limited to those who actually HAVE a drivable "clunker" that they can trade in, AND have enough disposable income to pay the difference between $4500 and new car.
It torques off the rest of us who have to cough up our "fair share" of that $4500 so someone else can enjoy a new car.
I have a car in the driveway that gets just good enough mileage (allegedly, on the books) that it doesn't count, that's just the wrong side of drivable, and I will have to pour about $4500 into it just to make it road-legal - just so I can get it to the dealer as viable trade-in - and I have to pay for someone ELSE's $4500 "trade-in" on a perfectly drivable vehicle that I'd gladly pay $4500 to own? WTF?
When the low income person decides to buy a used Explorer to haul her kids, will the price of those left have been raised exponentially? Will she be able to afford now scarce parts for her vehicle?
Kublow likes it that the taxpayer subsidizes a class of taxpayer, the one in possession of a clunker and willing to buy a new car. Why not just have a blind drawing of random taxpayers and give them $4,500. Oh no, that would be fair and rich people may get some. It is not like the original taxpayer could spend his money better, he needs government to.
I like it because it shows these people can’t even correctly budget a stupid motor vehicle rebate program. Which means that it just might be a bad idea to let them run the health-care industry. At least when they mess up the clunkers budget, nobody dies.