No Cash for Suckers Program Update

The government called it the "Cash for Clunkers" program.

I called it the "No Cash for Suckers" program in a previous commentary because of the following:

    a.  Dealers were not being reimbursed for the sales through the program after months of waiting despite being promised they would be paid in 15 days (another example of government efficiency), and

    b.  I predicted the cost per vehicle would be astronomical because sales would drop off after the program ended thereby leaving only a small increase in the total number of sales at a cost of another 3 billion dollars of debt for the taxpayers in America.

Now the evidence is in and this is exactly what happened.  Edmunds estimates it cost taxpayers about $24,000 per car... and this doesn't count the destruction of many perfectly fine used cars, lost time through massive paperwork, etc.

So the average price of these cars purchased was probably around $20,000 or less, but through the efficiency of government which they desperately want to demonstrate through a government run health care system, the taxpayers now owe $24,000 and the consumer owes $20,000 and the person who wants to buy a used car gets to pay a higher price too because those assets were destroyed under this brilliant government program.  What a deal!

They should have implemented my "Hay for Homes" program too since they liked this program so much.  See the details at:  Hay for Homes Program

Edmunds article: 

J. Cogburn