If you’re wondering how to reconcile the apparent paradox that the Cash-for-Clunkers program can be simultaneously popular…
The federal government’s new “Cash for Clunkers” program got off to a rousing start over the past two weeks, with some new-car dealers reporting dozens of deals completed in just the first few days.
Officially, the program began July 24 when the government released the final rules. The first flurry of activity kicked in over the first week — when the program came close to running out of money — and is continuing now only because of an infusion of $2 billion more, approved by Congress.
…and unpopular…
Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans oppose any further funding for the federal “cash for clunkers” program which encourages the owners of older cars to trade them in for newer, more fuel-efficient ones.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 33% of adults think Congress should authorize additional funding to keep the program going now that the original $950 million allocated for it has run out. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure.
…it’s because there are two, equally valid definitions of ‘popular’ at work here. The car industry is seeing higher sales and general interest from their pool of potential buyers – as well they should; the government is partially deliberate subsidizing new car sales for a portion of the population. Hence, from a dealership’s point of view, the program is popular. More people are buying cars. Meanwhile, the electorate – which largely consists of people who are not eligible for this program, and who know it – is justifiably skeptical of it, and don’t particularly want to see it progress.
I note this mostly because I suspect that there are a few politicians out there who are working under the assumption that “behaviors that car dealerships / people who bought gas guzzlers like” equals “behaviors that voters like.” I suspect that I will look forward to this being straightened out at the polls next year.
Moe Lane
PS: One correction to this article (“Cash4Gold Beats Cash-For-Clunkers Hands-Down”): the tax liability that the $4,500 represents isn’t limited to the person who traded in his or her vehicle. It’s going to be shared by pretty much everybody who pays taxes. And that is at least slightly annoying to, say, a person who bought a fuel-efficient car in 2001, kept up with the maintenance on it for six years, then finally only sold it when the AC permanently died and the trunk lock got busted.
Crossposted to Moe Lane.
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Moe Lane
Neil Stevens
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The people who get the pork think the meal was great
bk (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 8:52AM EST (link)Exactly.
get2djnow (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 9:09AM EST (link)Witness Tocqueville writ to the tune of $3,000,000,000.
A1C Elizabeth N. Jacobson (26 Mar 1984 – 28 Sep 2005) Killed by an IED during OEF, probably of Iranian origin, but aided by having predictably scheduled logistics convoys.
“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.” (Genesis 17:7)
“Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever.” (Genesis 13:14)
“For those who are with us here today before Hashem our God and (also) those who are not here with us today.” (Deuteronomy 29:14)
I was upset when my 10 and 19 year vehicle
Greg (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 9:41AM EST (link)didn’t qualify… Plus I didn’t like the forced choice of vehicle type you had to buy… This was touted to be a economical stimulus for the economy, but designed for the greenies… What about equal rights for all… First stimulus provided rebates to people who didn’t pay taxes…
Where are the Greenies in this travesty?
penguin2 (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 9:09AM EST (link)It has been appalling that we have taken perfectly good, drivable cars and tossed them on the scrapheap. Why is no one talking about this. Just so we help the auto industry look good (for a short time) and thus the government? I’m not going to even go into the Carbon Footprint stuff. And as you noted, we are all going to pay for someone, somewhere getting a new car.
I think it is a sin to destroy what is usable.
Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. – Benjamin Franklin
When Good stands up to Evil, Evil blinks. – Vassar Bushmills
Conservative Education: Suggested Reading List
Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots
I wonder about the overall environmental impact
bk (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 9:31AM EST (link)If people have old smog-spewing gas guzzlers but couldn’t afford new cars, it’ll be harder for them to get used cars now. Of course forcing them drive their pollutermobiles longer isn’t factored into the equation in talking about how many pounds of carbon emissions are saved.
What, 80 billion wasn't enough
banzaibob (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 9:33AM EST (link)and thet’re buying foreign anyway.
Prefiero morir de pie que vivir de rodillas
It’s better to die upon your feet than to live upon your knees!
Emiliano Zapata
Not precisely true...
acat (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 10:30AM EST (link)The definition of “domestic” and “foreign” is nowhere near that clear – both of my Toyotas were built in the U.S. of A – just not by the UAW…
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“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost”. –Tolkein
Dude, you must be a tool of the
Richard Mullins (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 10:47AM EST (link)UAW because your spilling UAW talking points. I have no problem buying a car that has no UAW making it(well that’s for New cars, I’ve given a pass for used cars). When the UAW is no more, then I consider buying a Big Three Auto.
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Joe Biden is like a Decrepit Park owner with a Meth lab that happens to not only be a dealer but a user.
Let’s Bankrupt the Democratic paty. Make spend all the money to defend thier candidates.
A Tool of UAW
banzaibob (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 11:19AM EST (link)I don’t think so. If there ever there was a symbol of mediocrity in this country its the unions. I will agree though that many of the cars built by foreign auto makers are actually built in the US. I have owned nothing but Toyotas since 1982 and a few of them were built here in the US.
Prefiero morir de pie que vivir de rodillas
It’s better to die upon your feet than to live upon your knees!
Emiliano Zapata
Yeah, Pork is GREAT!
yoyo (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 9:35AM EST (link)Just ask the hog.
It reminds me of a Sunday School parable when I was young:
Sunrise Service Breakfast always has Ham and Eggs. For the hen, it is an offering. For the pig, it is a sacrifice.
I would much prefer to be the hen. Obama is mandating that EVERYONE-ish be the pig.
Nemo me impune lacesset
“No one will provoke me with impunity!”
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Pukin’ Dogs – The Fighting 143
Sans Reproache
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The ‘yoyo’ replaced my cigarettes January 22, 2006….
Where's my free money?
mallcopsaysno Tuesday, August 11th at 9:55AM EST (link)Man, I’m such a sucker. If I had only taken advantage of that fat tax break to buy my “light truck” SUV several years ago, I could have been handed even more free money to buy a Prius or something today. Instead I ride a bicycle to work. Healthy, green, and not eligible for any free government money.
Darn it.
I refused to apologize for chickenhawking when told to.
Eisenhower was right.A gift that keeps giving?
Curt409 Tuesday, August 11th at 10:00AM EST (link)Does anyone know if the $4500 will be taxed? (We may all have a well earned good laugh in 8 months)
Curt
Didn't Aesop write a fable about Cash For Clunkers?
Sharp_Right_Turn Tuesday, August 11th at 10:10AM EST (link)True story (I’ll refrain from giving my pal’s name because he occasionally reads this webpage and he’ll kill me if he found out). This weekend my friend called to tell me that he managed to peddle off his recently paid off 2004 Jeep Cherokee to purchase a brand new Toyota FJ Cruiser. Let me get this straight: Obama’s plan to save the auto industry as well the planet entailed taxpayers was to flip the bill for fully functional cars that allegedly low gas mileage so that Americans would be encouraged to purchase a more fuel efficient American made car? My pal not only purchased a car with comparable gas mileage to the clunker he brought in. His new SUV isn’t even an American car!
To make matters worse, he spoke to me yesterday and told me that he’s suffering from some serious buyers remorse. After taxes and other fees, the $4500 he got for his Cherokee covered actually had a net worth of less than $2000. Adding insult to injury, he told me that he’s broke and can’t make any major purchases for the rest of the year. Thanks to his kneejerk reaction to Cash for clunkers, he’ll be paying more than $400 a month for the next 5 years when he was recently paying ZERO a month for his Cherokee! Suddenly that $4500 doesn’t seem like such a bargain to him.
Many will have buyers remorse
izoneguy (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 10:19AM EST (link)It is ironic that Obama would roll out a program during our great recession where people have to go into more debt. Look for some great deals in 8 or 9 months as those “new” cars get repoed….
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
CAVEAT CLVNKER
Sharp_Right_Turn Tuesday, August 11th at 12:39PM EST (link)As it turns out, my pal’s $4500 gift is not only a tax credit. He’s required by law to declare it taxable income for the 2009 tax year. So after fees and auto sales taxes up front, the addition income tax liability of $4500, the looming car payments for the next 60 months and the depreciation of the vehicle during that time span, my pal is looking to save a total of (conservative estimate) -$14,600.
Strange how free stuff always ends up being the most expensive.
As the owner of a Jetta TDI
Loren Heal (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 10:43AM EST (link)with a real-world 46mpg of dieselly goodness, AND an Eagle Talon Tsi with ear-pinning, neck-snapping all-wheel-drive happiness, AND a ’86 GMC Sierra pickup with lumbar-thumping aftermarket sound, I can say this: take your cash, your clunker, and go stimulate yourself.
The right tool for the right job, I say.
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Join the Concord Project, and follow @lheal, if you dare.
MPG of diesel cars are great, but
Greg (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 11:31AM EST (link)TAX on diesel fuels makes cars that get 26 MPG on gas just as affordable… Ford will not market there diesel car in America because of the diesel tax and the greenies…
Huh?
Loren Heal (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 1:01PM EST (link)Where I live, the price of diesel and the price of gas leapfrog; sometimes one or the other is higher. Right now they’re within a few cents of each other, and I’m not sure which is higher.
For a while the price of diesel was $1 higher per gallon, and even then the miles-per-dollar was about the same.
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Join the Concord Project, and follow @lheal, if you dare.
Maryland
Greg (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 1:20PM EST (link)Dollar higher taxes for diesel in Maryland
Down here in Harris County,TX diesel isn't all that much more than Gas
Richard Mullins (Diary) Tuesday, August 11th at 1:54PM EST (link)Even though the excise tax for Diesel is 44.4c and Gas is 38.4c. The only bad side to a diesel car is the cost of maintenance(because not just any old person can do the work on it).
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Joe Biden is like a Decrepit Park owner with a Meth lab that happens to not only be a dealer but a user.
Let’s Bankrupt the Democratic paty. Make spend all the money to defend thier candidates.
I didn't have a problem understanding this
clement Tuesday, August 11th at 12:07PM EST (link)The “popular” amount of people using this program account for less than 1% of America. If everyone who didn’t participate in the cash for clunkers program was against it, it would have been a pretty lopsided result. Unfortunately that isn’t the case.
Unfortunately, a lot of buyers do have a problem understanding it.
Sharp_Right_Turn Tuesday, August 11th at 12:54PM EST (link)True, the amount of people using this program may consist of only 1% of America but it presently makes a substantially higher percentage of Americans who are buying cars right now, possibly more than 50% (don’t quote me on that). Interest in the program is so that the program ran out of money. All financial reports indicate that the spike in car sales is directly correlated to this program. In fact, I know people at work who don’t even need a new car that are in the midst of buying a new one. Regrettably, like with the mortgage crisis, most people can’t see the forest through the clunkers and are not reading the laundry list of fine print.
Most would be against it and probably will be sooner than later when the reality of their situation rears its ugly head again and repossessed cars start piling up.
These are the geniuses who want control of healthcare nt
Pomme (Diary) Wednesday, August 12th at 1:05AM EST (link)nt
“Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views” William F Buckley Jr.