The Cash For Clunkers Program that I wrote about here is a rousing success. So much so that the $1 billion that was supposed to last three months is gone in a week.
The Obama administration is telling lawmakers that its much-touted "cash-for-clunkers" program is already running out of money, 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 Obama administration had told senators that the program would be suspended at midnight Thursday, aides said, but a White House official told POLITICO that the administration is "working tonight to assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program.
Well why wouldn't it be popular. It is a direct subsidy on the order of $3,000 to $4,000 for the purchase of a new car. All you need is a drivable junker that you have owned for a year to trade in to get the Government Cash. Can't afford a new car? Credit bad? Tough luck. This is not for the peasants. It is to help boost Government Motors, Crisis Motors, and FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) Motors.
Now here is where the Republicans come in on the "deal".
One Michigan Republican, Congresswoman Candice Miller, has already come out in favor of extending the program, saying in a statement: "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."
Stimulative for the folks getting the money. A stone rip off for the taxpayers who will wind up paying the bill. And we have a Republican dancing in the street over this? Doesn't the Republican Party have any principles any more? Well I guess I already knew the answer to that question. Still.
I'm adding "Honk if I paid for your car" to my "Honk if I'm paying your mortgage" sign.
Voting your constituency (Michigan) has long been a article of political faith, especially for Representatives. One would hope, however, that a Republican would be able to resist that impulse as we careen down "The Road to Serfdom". Maybe the Republican Party should development something along the lines of the SATs for prospective candidates to see if they have even heard of Hayek or Freeman or Buckley.
11B40 · July 30, 2009 11:29 PM
Is this what this country has become? All of these programs and about the only discussion is can we afford it, will it work? How about it's none of the government's business and if it costs 10 cents and makes everyone rich it still shouldn't be done!
For Pete's sake imagine the efficiency if we took everyone's income and bought standardized apartments and bought standardized clothing and ate standardized food. The efficiency of scale ought to be phenomenal.
I'm ready for the counter-revolution. The traitorous politicians and the corrupt media aren't the problem keeping the country down. They are the symptom of lazy and careless citizens that are just waiting for a better offer without regard to their own liberty.
I'm rooting for the killer asteroid these days.
Scott M · July 31, 2009 8:13 AM
The same peole who complain about this popular prgram would complain if no one took advantage of it. They are the nay sayers of the USA, who think Obamapolicies are all wrong, without even considering them.
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Don?t bang your head!
Greetings:
I'm adding "Honk if I paid for your car" to my "Honk if I'm paying your mortgage" sign.
Voting your constituency (Michigan) has long been a article of political faith, especially for Representatives. One would hope, however, that a Republican would be able to resist that impulse as we careen down "The Road to Serfdom". Maybe the Republican Party should development something along the lines of the SATs for prospective candidates to see if they have even heard of Hayek or Freeman or Buckley.