More of your taxpayers put to brilliant use. /sarcasm. $3,500 to $4,500 vouchers costing $20,000 in taxpayer money... http://www.automotivedigest.com/content/displayArticle.aspx?a=60466
The cash for clunkers program will only lift sales slightly going forward over the next 3-6 months however anyone falling for this as being a great deal is really being taken for. First off anyone driving a clunker really cant afford to buy a new car to begin with, so here we have people taking on thousands of dollars worth of debt so that they can get a new car which without the program would just be driving the same clunker for another 5-10 years. Seems any program they put together to help the economy is a direct negative to the taxpayer.
Add to this that a lot of dealerships and automakers have reduced incentives during the CARS period, many of the cars being traded in still have some value (e.g. a 1995 Ford Explore or 1993 Chevy Silverado with 100k to 150k miles are probably worth at least $2,200 if not more), perfectly good cars and trucks are being crushed, cars sold during this period are stealing car sales from the future so that as soon as this program expires dealerships will see even less foot traffic than before, etc. This is a taxpayer funded, wasteful, inefficient mess that is really a marketing campaign for dealers. Most of the people who show up expecting to qualify won't, anyways, as their car has to be made after 1984, get 18 mpg or less, and even then, the new car has to get x% better fuel economy than the one being traded in. So, the taxpayers are paying $20k for those individuals who do qualify to get a 3,500 or 4,500 voucher. Bravo.