Maybe not. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly-30-million-stolen-from-cnnm-2424087185.html?x=0 About $30 million stolen from this supremely-managed gov't program. The thiefs included 1,200 prison inmates, including 241 serving life sentences. 34 employees of the IRS were also caught. Just wait until ObamaCareFraud.
the cases of fraud aren't what bothers me with these buyers credits. it's that they don't really help buyers; they help lenders, real estate agents, home builders, and in the case of cash-for-clunkers, car manufacturers and dealers. these credits only cause asset prices to appreciate by some amount, which offsets any benefit they provide to the buyer. the higher price, however, helps dealers and real estate agents and home builders. i saw this phenomenon first hand because i was car shopping last summer and noticed car prices jump $2000-3000 one week after the onset of cash-for-clunkers, and fall by the same amount after the program ended. that program was tax-payer funded welfare for car makers and dealers, period. not to mention, the higher purchase price of the house or car means you pay more in taxes and fees! it's a net loss for buyers! fuck i hate our government and their retarded programs.
Well, the fraud should certainly bother you. If that many prisoners can game this system, I can't imagine how poorly it's managed. And I'm sure they haven't detected all the fraud, either. But you make some other good points. These programs do little more than waste taxpayer dollars and cause problems and unintended consequences (besides fraud).