On Politics, We Can Always See the Whites of Their Eyes.
Video: The (Vaguely Disturbing) Death of a Clunker
by: Bill Dupray posted: 2009-08-01 11:04:00
Viewed 827 times. 5 Comments.
The Cash for Clunkers program is stupid for a lot of reasons. Not only is it just another tax-payer bailout of the unions automakers, who can sell more cars at artificially depressed prices so they can keep the doors open. It also screws with the free-market (big surprise there) by pulling forward demand that isn't there now, only to kill demand over the next 1-2 years. Killing off the clunkers also hurts the used car market, the spare parts market, and the auto repair business. If there aren't any old cars to buy or fix, those guys are all out of a job.
But one of the most asinine parts of the plan is that they take old cars, many of which were being used as functional day-to-day transportation the day before, and destroy them. A perfectly good and useful machine destroyed for political reasons.
In a normal world, you take your trade-in to the dealer, he buys it from you, and then he resells it at the auto auction. It is the most efficient allocation of resources for the product. In this case, the government buys your trade-in and, instead of using it for its full value, it destroys the vehicle.
Don't get me wrong, I won't stay awake at night worrying about inanimate objects, but there seems to be something unsettling about this state sanctioned "autocide."
From The Truth About Cars. Does this Volvo look like it should be destroyed?
Check out the comments on that post. It is a car site, so folks aren't as nakedly partisan as they are on political sites, but they don't really like this program. Here is one.
This Jeep also gets two behind the ear (though it does look at lot more clunkerish). Apparently what they do is pour something into the engine and then red-line it until it blows.
I know people will say that some of these cars were maintenance disasters to own and if the blue book is less that what someone will pay you for it, then there is no point in keeping it. But the Cash for Clunkers program requires that a working vehicle be destroyed. What about giving it to charity, or to your teenager, or to whomever deems the thing more useful than a $4,500 credit on a new car.
Tags: Obama, Capitalism,
Related Articles
- Tamar Yonah: Communist In The White House?
- Video: Angry, Bitter President Clings to Notion that his opinion Matters to GOP
- Jon Stewart: You set up the Presidential Podium and a TelePrompter in a 6th Grade Classroom?
- Obama: Taupe without Portfolio
Links to this post
Trackback url: http://patriotroom.com/article/video-the--vaguely-disturbing--death-of-a-clunker/trackback
Comments 5
ALERT: DO NOT GO TO THAT WEBSITE. Pass this around.
the gov wll sieze all the files off of your computer if you go to the cash for clunkers website.
See story here.
You're wrong. That disclaimer is for the DEALERS who are logging in to get money from the gov't. While it is a scary TOS agreement, it is not for everyone -- just those who are acting as agents of this government program.
Stop paying so much attention to the ravings of Glenn Beck.
Bill -- you hit it on the head. It's grossly inefficient and it reminds me of Hog Reduction. I have been thinking of buying a new car, myself; the Jeep just turned 100K, but still runs great and looks just fine, if not the newest flashy (stylishly boxy) model. Somehow the thought of my perfectly good Jeep going to the boneyard just didn't sit right with me.
This kind of thing is ripe for exploitation on the black market, too -- like a rolling version of rent-controlled housing. Has it occurred to anyone in the WH that these buyers can turn right around and sell the spiffy new hybrid at a discount, and pocket the cash? Definitely worth a couple of days of work (one doing the dealership dance and one putting it on Ebay or Craigs List) for three or four grand. Gee, might that be why these things went like hotcakes?
Incidentally, this billion dollars shifted the gas mileage by five mpg for less than 0.1% of the cars registered in the USA. So by my math, it would cost...fifty billion to raise the average gas mileage in America by one mpg. That also assumes that there are enough people with old cars that qualify that can also afford brand new cars, but let's assume that for a minute. That's about 1.2M cars. I'm pretty sure that you could take the top 500 earners in the Screen Actors Guild, get them to pledge to fly commercial (hey, first class is fine with me) and accomplish the same thing -- without spending a dime.
Have an opinion?
blog advertising is good for you
blog advertising is good for you
Publius' Newsstand
-
Rep. Altmire confirms: NO
Nancy has about run out of "yes" votes: Congressman Jason Altmire will vote against the latest version of health care reform when the U.S. House of Representatives votes on the bill this weekend. Altmire confirmed that he has decided to vote no in a telephone conversation with KDKA Political Editor Jon Delano. The McCandless Democrat is expected to post a statement on his website later today.Views: 93 Comments: 0
-
JIP: Obama Approval Under Disapproval on RCP
Tough to be Barry: Real Clear Politics, or RCP for short, is a news site that averages approval/disapproval polls together, forming a very non-partisan system. For the last year and change, I have closely watched the approval of the President. Slowly but surely, it kept going lower and lower and lower. The President was at his peak on January 29, 2009 with an approval of 63.5 and a disapproval of only 19.3, a 44.2% difference. From the beginning of March to the end of June, Obama's approval/disapproval held moderately steady. But then it happened. The President began calling for radical reforms to the American Health Care System. While reform is needed, this "change" that the President was peddling did not sit well with the American people.Views: 181 Comments: 0
-
Will House recon bill surive intact in Senate? ...
Very clear. Toast: FTA: Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said Thursday that it is unlikely the Senate will be able to pass a health care reconciliation bill unchanged from what the House passes. Conrad said the Senate Parliamentarian has declined to make rulings on several issues in the bill that Republicans are likely to challenge under the “Byrd rule.” That rule states that, among other things, every provision of a budget reconciliation bill must have a budget impact and cannot be “extraneous.” “Although we’ve spent many, many hours with the Parliamentarian, some things he has not yet rendered a conclusion” on, Conrad said. “He wants to hear from both sides before he does.” Conrad continued: “Do I expect there will be some additional Byrd rule challenges that will be upheld? Yeah. I do.”Views: 97 Comments: 1
-
Another flip from Yes to No: Rep. Michael Arcur...
Rep. Mike Arcuri (D., N.Y.), a sophomore who had a tough go of it in 2008, will vote nay on Obamacare, both on the House floor and in the Rules Committee. The Rules vote is symbolic, since Democrats outnumber Republicans there two-to-one. But the floor vote could go either way. It is obviously a blow to Pelosi's chances of hitting 216.Views: 155 Comments: 0
-
Update on CBO: Corrupt Dem leaders touting unof...
Thanks to Avery for the heads-up on today's atrocity rolling off Capitol Hill.Ranking Republican Paul Ryan responds to an NRO query about the news this morning: “The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that there is currently no official cost estimate. Yet House Democrats are touting to the press — and spinning for partisan gain — numbers that have not been released and are impossible to confirm.
Boy, a final official number that came in over a trillion bucks would really bite them in the a**.Views: 125 Comments: 0
-
McCain's lead over Hayworth shrinks to 7
Johnny Mac is also under the all-important 50% support level.The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Arizona GOP Primary voters shows McCain ahead 48% to 41%. Three percent (3%) favor another candidate, and eight percent (8%) are undecided. Following the announcement that Sarah Palin would campaign for his reelection, McCain opened up a 53% to 31% lead over Hayworth in January. The two men were in a near tie in November.
By my math, McCain's lead shrunk from 21 to 7 in two months. Hmmm.Views: 71 Comments: 0
-
CBO: Obamacare costs $940 billion
And in the world of Washington speak, somehow spending that much cash actually lowers the deficit by $130 billion. I have a better idea. How about we just not spend $940 billion in the first place? After all, if you are trying to trim your budget, you don't go buying a Lamborghini on a credit card. One more thing. Isn't it funny how CBO can score a bill without an actual bill. Hmmm . . .Views: 85 Comments: 0
-
USA Today editors: The Slaughter Rule is a 'gim...
Keep in mind USA Today wholeheartedly supports this health care takeover, but even they are disturbed by "deeming" a bill passed without a vote in the House.[House] leaders are mulling a rule that would allow the chamber to "deem" the Senate's version of health legislation as passed, without actually having to vote on it. Imagine how useful this trick would be in daily life. You could make unpopular decisions without actually appearing to make them. That excruciating Thanksgiving dinner at your brother-in-law's? You "deemed" that you attended. . . . It's understandable that some House Democrats wouldn't want to cast a direct vote on the Senate bill . . . before moving to change it. But a procedure this transparently gimmicky just adds to the cynicism surrounding the bill and opens it up to unnecessary court challenges.
Views: 88 Comments: 2
-
Biden bombs at Correspondents' Dinner
Biden is funnier when he isn't trying to be funny. This stuff is so lame, he should have gotten the hook. More, if you can stand them, at the link. - "I just got back from five days in the Middle East. It's great to be back to a place where a boom in housing construction is a good thing." - "Liz Cheney is here tonight. Liz has been on a tear. Now she's questioning if Tom Brady is a Patriot." Meh, said the crowd. "What the hell, it was worth a try." - On moving to Washington: "I voted for public housing all my career -- never realized how good it actually is!"Views: 99 Comments: 1
-
Shocker: Boxer now trails Campbell in CA Senate...
Sure, it's within the margin of error, but Campbell is leading. The pollster moves the race to "toss-up."In hypothetical match ups with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) in the general election, Campbell leads Boxer, 44% to 43%, while Boxer leads Fiorina, 45% to 44%, and tops DeVore, 45% to 41%. Both findings are within the survey's margin of error.
Views: 90 Comments: 0
Get Your PR Button!
More Articles By Bill Dupray
- Another flip from Yes to No: Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY)
on 2010-03-18 with 155 views - CBO: Actually, those defict reduction figures are pretty much guesses
on 2010-03-18 with 136 views - Update on CBO: Corrupt Dem leaders touting unofficial numbers
on 2010-03-18 with 125 views - Homeowner introduces two robbers to 2nd Amendment: One dead, one fled
on 2010-03-18 with 284 views - McCain's lead over Hayworth shrinks to 7
on 2010-03-18 with 71 views - CBO: Obamacare costs $940 billion
on 2010-03-18 with 85 views - USA Today editors: The Slaughter Rule is a 'gimmicky, cynical trick'
on 2010-03-18 with 88 views - Biden bombs at Correspondents' Dinner
on 2010-03-18 with 99 views - Shocker: Boxer now trails Campbell in CA Senate race
on 2010-03-18 with 90 views - GOP gears up for health bill lawsuits
on 2010-03-18 with 59 views
Enough of this idiotic government bulls***.