Cash for Clunkers Sentence of the Day

Posted August 6th, 2009 at 4.23pm in Energy and Environment, Enterprise and Free Markets.

“But don’t expect anyone in Congress to admit that taxpayers are paying around $6,000 to provide a $4,500 rebate for a foreigner or illegal immigrant to buy a new car. “

That’s Lurita Doan. She argues:

“First, DOT created and staffed an entirely new organization with three divisions to administer the clunkers program.

Second, the funding was allocated to cover extensive Help Desk telephonic support, promotional materials, mailers, travel, Web site development and maintenance. Plus, extensive administrative and managerial staffing was also funded. There is staffing to manage the contracts, to review the auto dealer submissions, to develop Executive Branch and Congressional reporting, and to provide investigatory oversight for the program.

Federal government staffing for 3 divisions doesn’t come cheaply. Add to it other administrative and overhead costs for office space, telecommunications, power, equipment and furniture, as well as costs for meetings, photocopying, paper, pens, help desk support. When the government’s costs of running the program are totaled up, each clunker is likely to cost taxpayers around $6,000 per car.”

And:

Perhaps, one of the most disturbing parts of the Clunker program is that the recipient of the $4,500 doesn’t need to provide a Social Security number. So, it is possible for illegal immigrants, as well as resourceful folks from Canada and Mexico, to cross our borders, trade in their clunkers, and get American taxpayer dollars.”

Charities and mechanics are upset as well, and rightfully so.

Author: Nick Loris
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10 Comments

August 6, 2009 Paul Michigan writes:

I am 19 years old, I needed a car cause my van bit the dust so I went out, sold a computer, cut the crap out of the budget and bought a 1500 dollar car while working minimum wage and renting my own house. I didn’t need the governments help, and if i can do it the rest of America can! Stop being lazy and start being productive and self sustaining!!!

August 6, 2009 marilyn morgan writes:

this cash for clunkers is just ridiculous. why wouldn’t you ask for am social security no. so that foreigners aren’t buying the new cars. It seems like everythihg Obama does is just a big fiasco. When will it stop? Wake up people don’t vote for democrats in the next election!!!!!

August 6, 2009 ejj, Fort Worth, Texas writes:

Sure this program has some flaws but overall it’s a shining star in an otherwise poorly implemented stimulus plan. We’ve spent how many decades trying to fix the defense appropriations & weapons system research & development process…and we still don’t seem to have it figured out. The clunkers program is beneficial on so many levels…3 billion dollars to get people back into the car showrooms across the country & buying new cars that are significantly better than what’s being scrapped is okay by me.

August 7, 2009 Friday morning links - Maggie's Farm writes:

[...] can’t make this stuff up: Cash for refrigerators. As for the Cash for Clunkers, read this and [...]

August 7, 2009 KJH, Los Angeles writes:

ejj, you completely ignored Lorita’s admonition. This program costs us $6,000 in taxes per car, so in effect, it’s operating at a net loss. Not to mention the program wasn’t fully funded in the first place, and the implications poorly thought out. Why undercut small business owners that sell quality used cars? Create new jobs? Most new car dealerships have laid off employees, and many others have closed. Cash for Clunkers doesn’t “have flaws”, it’s completely flawed and should have been refunded.

August 7, 2009 Rich, Illinois writes:

A critical point is being missed. Cash for Clunkers was never about helping Americans buy cars, it was about helping UAW members who work for the big three. That many of the vehicles being sold are Toyotas is kind of funny, the way the unions are stocking these town hall meetings with thugs is not. A lot of people who scoffed at the idea that our freedoms are in danger under Obama are beginning to see the truth, others welcome his brand of socialism and thug politics. Keep in mind that in 1920’s Russia many of the people who supported Lenin and socialism ended up in work camps where most died, or faced firing squads once they were no longer needed.

August 8, 2009 “Cash For Clunkers” sentence of the day — MzEllen writes:

[...] read the rest (HT: The Foundry - blog of the Heritage Foundation) This entry was posted on Saturday, August 8th, 2009 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]

August 8, 2009 RMR, Tulsa writes:

Has anyone done the math with the recent figures being splashed all over the TV…
22,782 contracts have been awarded, and if you calculate each one at $4500, that only comes to about 100 million dollars. They, (whoever they are) claim that the budgeted 1 billion has been used up and have gone back to congress for more money. Just how much is required to administer this program????

August 12, 2009 StepIntoTheLight, Michigan writes:

Reminds me of a story I read recently about the 2010 census that misses one critical question: Are you a legal US Citizen?

This program was “free” money to shore up the Presidents failures with all his other experiments. The only real success was proving (once again) our government is completely out of touch with reality and morally bankrupt, using political handouts to prove their “popularity” in the heartland of America.

August 13, 2009 Mookie, Bend, OR writes:

Re point #3:

Have you boneheads even bothered to figure out how the program works? The $4,500 comes off the price of the car, and the gov’t sends the reimbursement check to the dealership — eventually, doesn’t seem to be happening quite yet.

No one is hopping across the Rio Grande with a pocketfull of ill-gotten cash. But to know that, you’d have to study up on the program before putting the outrage pedal to the floor.

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