"Cash For Clunkers" Project Suspended

[dusred]

http://online.wsj.com/article/....html

There you have it. We've spent 1 billion dollars in one week saving the environment and trashing good cars that we may need to rob rare parts off one day. Looks like the incentive worked real well and I hope all of the Car Enthusiasts of Nico enjoy paying for your neighbor's old car (which you would be glad to get parts off) get crushed and now they have a new one in their driveway that they can't afford.

The speed with which it took off now puts it among the most successful stimulus packages to come out of Washington since the start of the recession.

I'm not sure weather it was successful or not since it helped 110,000 people get new cars and if you do the math that's a very small percentage of US Citizens above the age of 18. In my opinion the cash for clunkers program was very wasteful and did 0 good for the environment. Yay, there's 110,000 less "clunkers" off the road now and how much do you think that helped?

Dealers who have been doing big advertising campaign's are now screwed our of the money they spent advertising. IMO it was just an all the way around bad idea.

[audtatious]

Nissan is among those who will need to pull new commercials...

lolz

[themadscientist]

I think most new cars are less reliable than a "clunker." Screw that program, just another political stunt on our dime.

[srellim234]

As the article indicated, the program is suspended while they evaluate where they're at. The program was designed to move 250,000 new cars (less than 220,000 if they all qualified for the full $4,500). The program has been successful to the point they're backed up with claims and need to catch up before resuming it. A KTLA television reporter spoke to one of his sources in Washington this morning and reported that they think they still have over 2/3 of the money left.

If Congress panics and allocates more money for this program before the "system" catches up with the demand on processing current claims, look for people within the auto and the loan industry to start carting off wheelbarrows of cash into the darkness like the situation that occurred in Iraq under the previous administration.

Personally, given today's economic climate with the current redirection of wealth into corporate management pockets, heavy consumer debt and continued job losses now is not the time to be encouraging anyone to assume more debt and commit to more loan payments. Many of these same buyers that fall for this program are going to be the same ones that impulse bought houses they really couldn't afford. Now they'll just try to buy new cars they really can't afford.

If the government really wants to get the economy rolling again, how about a return to rebuilding our road infrastructure, high speed rail, etc., using work camps like the New Deal camps? Let's return to our own steel plants here, use displaced workers for construction, etc.

After years of promoting only a white collar economy, now we're lamenting the lack of Americans willing to do blue collar jobs and the loss of those jobs to overseas locations and employers. Let's create those jobs here and help the country long-term by doing so.

The government needs to quit pouring money into a financial industry that has already proven its dishonesty and irresponsibility.

[heliochrome85]

If the government really wants to get the economy rolling again, how about a return to rebuilding our road infrastructure, high speed rail, etc., using work camps like the New Deal camps ? Let's return to our own steel plants here, use displaced workers for construction, etc.

Haven't you learned anything from these forums and Fox News?!?! FDR DESTROYED THE UNITED STATESSSSSSSSSSSSS.

[srellim234]

You don't want to even get me started on Fox. Those guys litterally sold their souls to the devil and sacrifice the truth daily in search of a dollar bill. MSNBC isn't far behind.

Unfortunately, since the daily news has become a "for profit" venture among almost every news source, impartialism and actual reporting using journalistic ethics is a thing of the past. About all I can do is watch a blend of lies from both sides and figure the actual truth is somewhere inbetween.

[audtatious]

Journalism is all about recognition and making news today.

BTW, Cash for Clunkers has been given another 2 Billion by the House today so it is still active.

[audtatious]

Seems Glen Beck logged into the CARS.gov system today and after accepting the terms the following msg popped up:

"This application provides access to the DoT CARS system. When logged on to the CARS system, your computer is considered a Federal computer system and is the property of the U.S. Government. Any or all users of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected and disclosed to authorized CARS, DoT, and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign"

Quaint, aint it?

[srellim234]

It would behoove you to check it out yourself. You can't believe anything those nutcase liars from Fox tell you.

http://www.cars.gov/

There is no need to sign in; all the information is there in full view of the public. Beck is once again fabricating stuff to create hysteria against a democratically elected (and Democratically controlled) government.

Modified by srellim234 at 3:46 PM 7/31/2009
Modified by srellim234 at 3:47 PM 7/31/2009