So – have you taken advantage of the American Taxpayers – I mean, the Cash for Clunkers program yet?
No?
Then, before you do, let’s take a look at some of the provisions of this rammed-through legislation, shall we? First off, the vehicle you are trading in is probably not worth the $4500 you going to be “given” as an incentive, right? That’s probably what made you think about going this route. Do you have a job, that pays enough to allow you to make the payments on the new car for the next four to six years? Are you so sure about your job that you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you will still be employed for the next four to six years? Then why are you taking this bait, sucking up taxpayer money, to better yourself? If you are that sure of your income stream, and need to replace your vehicle, do it without taking taxpayers money.
OK, so you’ve decided that you can still sleep at night knowing that the $4500 dollars came out of the pockets of all the taxpayers in the country. All righty then. You know that not everyone feels they can take on a new car payment right now, right? So, they’ll be hanging on to what the government has declared to be a “clunker” but what the owners euphemistically call their “daily driver.” More often than not, the daily driver is a paid off, seven-to twelve year old vehicle, that gets between twelve and twenty miles per gallon. It’s also running towards the end of it’s “useful” life, that is, before the weekly repairs need to be done. The owner, a hard working American, knows a few things about turning wrenches, and knows how to remove and replace faulty parts. The owner knows that the best way to save money on parts is to troll the local salvage yard and pull the needed part off a wrecked version of “daily driver” or even buy the part from the counter where the salvage yard has done the pulling for you.
However, going down to the local salvage yard has a sobering effect on you – they have closed. Why? Well, there seems to be a lack of junked “clunkers” – since a lot of them went to the “cash For Clunkers” program.
You have another option, but one that has a larger fiscal impact on you. The corner auto parts store, while more expensive than the salvage yard, will have the part. It will be new or remanufactured, and come with a warranty, adn still be cheaper than buying another car. Your parts man tells you that the manufacturer doesn’t make that part anymore, because there aren’t enough of those cars on the road anymore.
Well, fine, you think to yourself – this old heap has been giving me problems anyway. Down to Larry’s Used Cars and Crullers you go for a new-to-you vehicle.
Oops – Larry’s closed down, too. Same reason – Cash For Clunkers took the decent used vehicles and, per government mandate, crushed them – so not even the salvageable parts, much less the entire car, could be resold. Part government program, part Green Whiners solution.
Let’s review, shall we?
TEH ONE decreed that, in accordance with the greening of America, those nasty old used cars should be forever removed from the road, and no part of them should live on allowing other old vehicles to continue running. Since the government owns two thirds of the auto industry, TEH ONE decreed that America should stimulate the pockets of the local dealers by convincing sheeple that being in debt for a new car would be a good thing. With the removal of the older vehicles, the demand for the parts (while still in existence) has dropped to a level that it doesn’t make economic sense to manufacture parts for “obsolete” models anymore.
Did you take notes? Can you take this scenario and apply it to another government program that is being pushed through to fruition rather quickly? Not mentioning anything specific, mind you – *coughobamacarecough* – just thought maybe you could use this to help you ask some pretty hard questions of your representatives the next time you should be attending one of their August Recess Town Hall Meetings.
Some other items that may be of interest to you, should you have need of more ammunition:
Too Much To Read (thank you, Joe)
Do You Trust Government Run Health Care? (with thanks to Joe for directing me over to Tom’s Place)
Trust Government? HAH! (also at Tom’s Place) (and, Joe? I blame you for pointing out Tom to me, now I have to add him to my blogroll, which I was TRYING to pare down, remember?)
Your Efficient Federal Government (h/t to BZ for writing about this)
Danger of National Health Care (another h/t to BZ for pointing this one out)
Going to a Town Hall? Check out this list of questions at Ol’ Broad’s place.
Chat ya later…
Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!
