Back in 2009, President Obama’s “Cash for Clunkers” program was supposed to be a boon for the environment and the economy. During a limited time, consumers could trade in an old gas-guzzling used car for up to $4,500 cash back towards the purchase of a fuel-efficient new car. It seemed like a win for everyone: the environment, the gasping auto industry and cash-strapped consumers.
Though almost a million people poured into car dealerships eager to exchange their old jalopies for something shiny and new, recent reports indicate the entire program may have actually hurt the environment far more than it helped.
According to E Magazine, the “Clunkers” program, which is officially known as the Car Allowance Rebates System (CARS), produced tons of unnecessary waste while doing little to curb greenhouse gas emissions...
And though the point was to get less fuel efficient cars off the roads, with only 690,000 traded in, and over 250 million registered in the U.S., the difference in pollutant levels seems pretty negligible.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Here's A Shocker
There were so many problems with the Cash For Clunkers program--anyone who wasn't blinded by rewarding political friends could see them, and the rewarding was the actual purpose of the program.
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One of the most hilarious things about it was the number of cars traded in that were not actually being used . . . the proper way to do this program is to subsidize what you want: I would suggest a sliding scale of tax credits for increasingly more fuel efficient vehicles; you could also add a tax penalty for gas guzzlers, if you so chose. It wouldn't get gas guzzlers off the road, but it would encourtage people to make better new choices. . . most people who drive gas guzzlers now adays probably couldn't afford a new car even with the trade in . . .
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