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The Cash for Clunkers program was designed as a rebate for turning in cars and purchasing a new one. Essentially, it returned taxpayer money to the taxpayers as an incentive. By Wednesday, 22,782 vehicles had been purchased and $96 million had been spent, and the program was out of money in days. Meanwhile, the spending from the stimulus package is slowly making its way throuugh the red tape and the vast majority of it has not been spent and will not be spent until 2010 and 2011.
Some car dealerships are now in a position of not knowing whether or not deals they made will be reimbursed. Some have stated that they have huge sums of money now at risk and have stopped with the program. Should they not get full reimbursement, they have lost money and now have the trade-ins that are wothless because they had to be destroyed. Congress must vote to see if they can get enough money to reimburse these dealers because they had not planned for this and there was no effective way of tracking the money and letting dealers know if the money was still there for the program.
Does this offer support for the position that the best way to stimulate the economy would be to give the money back to the taxpayers versus running it through the government process?
Does it demonstrate that the government's ability to run programs effectively is poor and that there are unintended consequences?
My understanding is that Cash for Clunkers received another $2 Billion in funding...
Do you have a link to your stories about mass-hysteria among auto dealers who fear they won't get their money now??
Do you have a quote from my post about mass-hysteria? These links and quotes support the statements I actually made.
washingtonpost.com
"The program's official Web site buckled under a flood of requests to process transactions, leaving dealerships uncertain about whether the sales qualified. And some car sellers say they are out as much as $1 million because the government has been slow to process reimbursements."
"Congressional leaders from Michigan on Friday questioned officials from the Transportation Department about how the program is administered, whether dealers are reimbursed in a timely fashion, and on technical glitches that have made it difficult to determine how many exchanges have taken place and how much money has been paid out. "
"He has taken in 260 clunkers but has yet to receive the roughly $1 million he says the government owes him. His staff recently spent eight hours on the government's Web site trying to process one claim. "
"The trade group for U.S. auto dealers is concerned that the government’s $1 billion program to get older, less fuel-efficient vehicles off the road will run out of money before the retailers can get reimbursements.
“It’s a real concern,” John McEleney, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association in Washington and the operator of General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. outlets in Iowa, said yesterday. “It’s obviously not going to last through the end of October and it may not last another week.” "
"NADA has expressed its concerns to the Transportation Department about diminishing funds, primarily because dealers are required to destroy the “clunkers” before they can apply for the government reimbursement. They must put sodium silicate in the engine and run it, which ruins it beyond repair. If the money runs out and the car is already destroyed, the car dealer would be stuck with a ruined car and no reimbursement."
Not quite. It gave money to citizens who might not have been able to afford a new car - the money comes from me and you and those who are taxpayers.
Another wealth redistribution.
I don't disagree with you on this point. My point was about the broader question of tax cuts versus the government's shovel ready projects for a quick stimulus.
Not quite. It gave money to citizens who might not have been able to afford a new car - the money comes from me and you and those who are taxpayers.
Another wealth redistribution.
EXACTLY, And when these people default on their car payments it will demonstrate that liberal, wealth distribution policies fail. Just like the housing bubble on a smaller scale.
My understanding is that Cash for Clunkers received another $2 Billion in funding...
Do you have a link to your stories about mass-hysteria among auto dealers who fear they won't get their money now??
I don't have any links but I have seen New car dealers here on the news saying they are worried if they will be paid or not.
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