Survey: Car Dealers say Clunkers a Failure as 97% Report Problems, Call for Program to Stop

Car Dealer Review ^ | 8/20/2009 | CDR

[CottonBall]

As of yesterday, the stories released are that the $3 Billion IS exhausted! Most of those dealers are now deep in debt and having to carry a loan because customers drove new cars away and the dealers have not been paid by the Feds. Wonderful program to help out business.

I must be missing something here. $3B is already used up, but only 3% of dealers have been paid? Does this mean that the government now owes dealers a trillion dollars (3% of a trillion is $3 billion)?

[Texas resident]

ozero to the car dealers: The check is in the mail. We won. Change.

[GOPJ]

How about house democrats investigating (so far it is a request) health insurance company's executive's pay but not the drug companies pay because the second cut a deal with Obama to run pro-Obama care commercials and the first opposes a public plan??

The Chicago way includes rewarding corrupt friends and hurting pious/honest enemies. I'll say one thing for Obama and friends - they know how to fight dirty - and this is just the start...

[supercat]

I must be missing something here. $3B is already used up, but only 3% of dealers have been paid? Does this mean that the government now owes dealers a trillion dollars (3% of a trillion is $3 billion)?

If both facts are accurate, it means that the government has committed itself to paying $3B--minus expenses--worth of rebates, but has only gotten around to paying 3% of that, so it still owes the remaining 97% to dealers.

While I am reluctant to credit this administration with anything, the statement that the program is running out of money while it still has cash in the bank to pay its backlog of bills (in other words, the use of accrual-based accounting) is a departure from the normal Democrat use of cash-based accounting for such things. I don't doubt that the decision to use accrual-based accounting in this scenario is driven by politics more than honesty, but at least the program isn't giving $10B of promises.

[supercat]

Car dealers had ABSOLUTELY no input in this program

They couldn't decline to participate?

BTW, would there be anything illegal about a dealer obtaining a supply of really crummy worn-out (but still running--barely) engines and swapping them into vehicles before destroying them? What is the labor cost of swapping engines, if the newly-installed engine just has to be capable of surviving a trip around the block?

[GregoryFul]

A major point of our American Constitution was to keep the opportunist thieves at bay, but now they are apparently permanently ensconced in a multitude of offices, and collectively ignore the fundamental law of the country. The people are the last resort to rebuke, arrest and punish this den of thieves, and restore liberty and freedom that has over the many years demonstrated the cornucopia of wealth provided for anybody willing to get out of bed in the morning.
Our government is now brazenly stealing wealth from us and our progeny to give trillions of it to well connected, and well healed friends, and billions of it to people too <?> to buy a new car, or too unscrupulous to pay their mortgage bills. Rewarding the wastrels and penalizing productive people among the commoners. A minor crime vs the former.
We as a people cannot let the widely corrupt congress and administration to continue on this course, otherwise our progeny will be under the yoke of constant poverty, infinite regulation, and deprivation. It seems well beyond pitchfork time...

[golas1964]

Quagmire!!!

[webschooner]

Obummer doesn’t give a flying f___ if the dealers get paid, in fact, he prolly just as soon see them go belly up. He hates capitalism.

People are getting new cars, and that’s all he cares about.

[ColdWater]

Cash for Clunkers

3000 government workers to process forms ....

Government oversight

Dealer red-tape / lost time

Vehicle disposal

Dealer fraud

Probably a total of 35% money just on overhead. A preview of Obamacare.

[April Lexington]

The Failed Obama Administration©

[EyeGuy]

I’d like to thank all of you hardworking and honest taxpayers for giving me $4500 for my daughter’s 1996 Ford Explorer which MIGHT have been worth $1750.

[Sparko]

Don’t worry, Uncle Miltie and I will get you back when Zero instutes Cash for Couches and Cash for Barcaloungers.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2323184/posts?page=37#37

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2323184/posts?page=49#49