[21boat]

I read today Congress passed "Cash for Clunkers" 2 billion this time. Doesn't that seem a bit twisted using tax payers money for people to buy a new car when across the country too many people don't even have enough money to pay for car insurance. How about the housing problems we have. People need roofs to keep dry etc. It seems like a smoke and mirror tactic to send money to the car manufactures through the back door knowing all the controversy on the U.S. car manufacturing bail outs.. Also is this programs for American made cars only or are imports also being bought which wheres that money go, Over seas?? It may help the big 3 but the rest of the economy is a lot bigger then a car factory.. The timing seems out of whack.. Not sure how they do there math also the first shot was supposed to last to Oct. It ran out of money in 3 days. What calculator/study info they go on to be 99.999% off the first estimate and is this the same calculator they use for other programs.?

[Quasar00]

As with most government programs, the Cash for Clunkers program is not designed to help anyone but the special interests. In this case "special interest" is complex. The US Govmt now owns car companies, and put a taxpayer funded incentive to help their own business. The problem is, the Federal Government does business very badly, and always has.

The idea was to help environmental lobby by forcing people to get more "green" vehicles, and at the same time increase the business of their own car company. Of course the stupidly illconsidered unintended consequences are that it does neither.

The clunkers are being destroyed at a cost, in dollars and the environment, rather than being recycled to help other Americans afford cheap cars... that they paid for, by the way! And most of the "green" car companies benefiting have their corporate offices in other countries.

Your government operates on the principle that your perception is reality. You save $4500 on a product that is probably inflated by $8000 in other "societal contributions" such as taxes and liability (lawyers), and you will thank them and vote for them in the next election.

Everyone KNOWS the government can't run a business, be efficient, be competitive, or even make sense half the time. Yet as long as you can "perceive" that you're getting something out of it personally, you're willing to suspend reality long enough to get yours. This isn't the government's fault, this is our fault. When there is nothing left for US in it, and we finally decide the cost of revolution is equivalent to the cost of not revolting, we should be cautious about claiming victim status. We let this happen.

[21boat]

Everyone KNOWS the government can't run a business, be efficient, be competitive, or even make sense half the time

And they want us to believe they can run our Health Care. I don't care what party you belong too. Just changing a president and a few people "ain't going to do "it, as the commoner once said.

The Way Gov has been running us in the ground over the Decades how about a new law.

They need to live by the same rules and test the new bills on them first for a couple of years and see how it works.. Not trying to start another thread here but couldn't find a better "what Ifs",