Cash for Clunkers

Started by Lord T Hawkeye, August 29, 2009, 08:22:25 PM

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I just heard about this program recently.  So...they encourage you to trade in your old car for a new one and get a tax break for it?  The idea I'm assuming is to boost the slacking auto industry.  I'm also informed that the old cars, which are still perfectly good really, are getting scrapped.

Anyone else share my response when I said "Well gee...why don't we just go and burn down houses to boost the real estate market while we're at it!  It makes just as much sense..."

Looks like broken window fallacy is at it again.
I recently heard that the word heretic is derived from the greek work heriticos which means "able to choose"
The more you know...

Quote from: Lord T Hawkeye on August 29, 2009, 08:22:25 PM
I just heard about this program recently.  So...they encourage you to trade in your old car for a new one and get a tax break for it?  The idea I'm assuming is to boost the slacking auto industry.  I'm also informed that the old cars, which are still perfectly good really, are getting scrapped.

Anyone else share my response when I said "Well gee...why don't we just go and burn down houses to boost the real estate market while we're at it!  It makes just as much sense..."

Looks like broken window fallacy is at it again.
Exactly!
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

They're not getting scrapped--they're getting DESTROYED. That's the destruction of a lot of wealth at taxpayer expense. Not only that, but this program is arguably WORSE for the poor, because so many of them depend on being able to go to a scrapyard and get a part for their old car so they can repair it themselves. By destroying the older cars, they're reducing the supply of these parts, which would cause their prices to rise.

Not to mention the fact that this encourages people to go into debt buying the new car. Oh, yeah, that's EXACTLY what we need right now!

I'm no expert, but this program strikes me as fairly blatant corporatism, along with some FDR style work scheme (read: Economic Fascism).
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

WHERE THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET A MUFFLER FOR MY PACER NOW!!!!

For some reason even the name pisses me off.

Actually, the real title of the program is the "Car Allowance Rebate System." Doesn't that just sound all warm and fuzzy?

And yes, the acronym is CARS. Someone was paid with your tax dollars to sit down and think that up...

Quote from: MrBogosity on September 01, 2009, 10:24:16 AM
Actually, the real title of the program is the "Car Allowance Rebate System." Doesn't that just sound all warm and fuzzy?

And yes, the acronym is CARS. Someone was paid with your tax dollars to sit down and think that up...

Yeah, warm and fuzzy that someone is getting a car that I helped pay the down payment on. People get paid with tax dollars for a lot of stupid reasons, wasteful spending is high on the government's to do list.

You might want to turn the volume down.

[yt]5l8hFvHndMw[/yt]

You know, I went out of my way not to find out what that was in order to avoid raising my already high blood pressure. Thank you, Mr. Hawkeye. You've increased my risk of getting a heart attack. =P

Seriously, though. I'm just about ready to give up on the USA and move to Hong Kong. I am taking Chinese classes...

That's impressive ranting skills up there.  o.O

Don't give up on the US, it just has an addiction problem.  It's an addiction the most harmful and addictive drugs of all: Control.  Like any addict, it can only get better when it hits a bottom and can't lie to itself anymore.

I once said to a friend "Watching government try to fix economy is like watching someone trying to put out a fire with gasoline and when the fire spread, he arrives at the conclusion that he obviously didn't use enough gasoline and goes out to buy some more.

..and he bought it using my credit card...

...and it's my forest"
I recently heard that the word heretic is derived from the greek work heriticos which means "able to choose"
The more you know...

Quote from: Virgil0211 on September 01, 2009, 10:25:34 PMSeriously, though. I'm just about ready to give up on the USA and move to Hong Kong. I am taking Chinese classes...
It's times like this I wish I my HS or college offered classes in it...blargh...
Aw well, there's always Ireland. *Listens to the awesome anthem of that place again* XD
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

Mm... how much worse would it have been if the US Gov't didn't bail out the banks etc?
imo it was a bit silly for the gov't to bail out the banks, surely if it's a small-govt system then the banks and companies that got themselves into the mess should surely have been left to suffer the consequences of their actions. Of course I'm not saying that would have been the best option.

Actually, it would have been. We'd likely be out of this mess by now if they'd done that.