Cash for Clunkers Program a Success, What do you think? Vol. Team Economics

[dacityslanga]

It seems that even though it is for every auto industry it seems more aimed at these God-Awful American Autos (GM, Chrysler) for them to bounce back and strivebut it will never happen

 

[infyrno23]

the purpose of it was to help reboost the economy... which it is doing.
any other outside factor is just not relevant to the topic.

 

[bijald0331]

The supposed premier economy of the world should not be run by gimmicks.

 

[wawaweewa]

Originally Posted by Infyrno23

the purpose of it was to help reboost the economy... which it is doing.
any other outside factor is just not relevant to the topic.

 

[chicagos finest 23]

So you get the trade in value for your car + 4,000?

 

[dirtylicious]

the purpose of it was to help reboost the economy... which it is doing.
eh?

 

[Sam Darnold Heisman #8]

i was reading on captiva while riding the elevator up to work that how experts were saying cash for clunkers was a failure since car buying would returnto the same levels as before the program in the weeks ahead.

 

[rsdplaya]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

and it boils down to...why should the American people subsidize car companies that have floundered b/c they squandered their earnings and profits when things were good?

yea, but it did happen...there's nothing we can do about the past now...it's time to rebuild...that's what this attempt is. idon't see the issue.

 

[Betonblck]

For those that are against this program, are you against all government transfer payments? (Against all tax rebates, subsidies, etc, etc)

Or just this one.

 

[grandaddypurp415]

its just part of the master plan to pump more money into the economy and making our dollar worth less and less

 

[grandaddypurp415]

wake up folks. then after everyone trades their clunkers in, they announce and release the new Chevy Volt that supposed to get 250 mpg. shady

 

[dirtylicious]

Originally Posted by cguy610

For those that are against this program, are you against all government transfer payments? (Against all tax rebates, subsidies, etc, etc)

Or just this one.

true tax rebates? no...b/c tax income is MY money... not the govt's

yea, but it did happen...there's nothing we can do about the past now...it's time to rebuild...that's what this attempt is. i don't see the issue.
...so you're ok with YOUR taxpayer money being spent by other people for new cars?

and if you don't pay taxes... I don't think you really don't have a say in this...it's easy to spend other people's money.

 

[goukiteg]

The repo business is going to be a good business in a few months.

 

[nostrandave68]

The ONLY thing im skeptical about with the Cash For Clunker's program are the purchasers.... im thinking that to qualify for this program individuals hadto be in great standing financially because if not we will have the mortgage mess all over again people defaulting on their loans. Repo business would boom tho

 

[kinglouisxiv]

I think "Cash for Clunkers" is an excellent example of a federal scrappage program working to stimulate the economy and improve national fuelefficiency.

Department of Transportation figures show that 83% of trade-ins were trucks, while 60% of purchases were cars. The average MPG of a trade-in was 15.8, whilethe average MPG of new cars purchased was 25.4, a 60% increase in fuel efficiency.

Fiscal "conservatives" can go ahead and boo-hoo about the use of federal money for this program, but considering the top selling car was the FordFocus, Cash For Clunkers has proven its value in stimulating the American economy in a way that quickly and effectively increases national fuel efficiency.

Here's a good article from The Economist: http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14162193

Anything to get these "clunkers" off the road:

 

[dacityslanga]

Originally Posted by goukiteg

The repo business is going to be a good business in a few months.

Agreed

 

[dacityslanga]

Originally Posted by KingLouisXIV

I think "Cash for Clunkers" is an excellent example of a federal scrappage program working to stimulate the economy and improve national fuel efficiency.

Department of Transportation figures show that 83% of trade-ins were trucks, while 60% of purchases were cars. The average MPG of a trade-in was 15.8, while the average MPG of new cars purchased was 25.4, a 60% increase in fuel efficiency.

Fiscal "conservatives" can go ahead and boo-hoo about the use of federal money for this program, but considering the top selling car was the Ford Focus, Cash For Clunkers has proven its value in stimulating the American economy in a way that quickly and effectively increases national fuel efficiency.

Here's a good article from The Economist: http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14162193

Anything to get these "clunkers" off the road:

Actually my co-worker has one of those horrid American Vehicles...It didnt qualify as a Clunker

 

[andycrazn]

Originally Posted by Matt Barkley Heisman Number 8

i was reading on captiva while riding the elevator up to work that how experts were saying cash for clunkers was a failure since car buying would return to the same levels as before the program in the weeks ahead.

short term gain for long term pain

 

[kinglouisxiv]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

[h2]Cash-for-Clunkers' Effect on Air Pollution? Barely a Blip, Climate Experts Say[/h2]
Compared to overall carbon-dioxide emissions in the U.S., the pollution savings from the absurdly popular and taxpayer-funded cash-for-clunkers program do not noticeably move the fuel gauge, climate experts told The Associated Press in an article published today.

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The horror, the horror: Despite all of the hoopla, C4C does little to effect climate change.

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The experts told the news service that the program - which was conceived to stimulate the economy, jump-start the auto industry and a curb the amount of automotive greenhouse gases entering the Earth's atmosphere - is not a good way to attack climate change.

"As a carbon-dioxide policy, this is a terribly wasteful thing to do," said Henry Jacoby, a professor of management and co-director of the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change at MIT. "The amount of carbon you are saving per federal expenditure is very, very small."

Officials expect a quarter-million gas guzzlers will be junked under the original $1 billion setaside by Congress - money that is now all but exhausted.

Calculations by The AP, using Department of Transportation figures, show that replacing those fuel hogs will reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by just under 700,000 tons a year. While that may sound impressive, it's nothing compared to what the U.S. spewed last year: nearly 6.4 billion tons (and that was down from previous years).

That means on average, every hour, America emits 728,000 tons of carbon dioxide. The total savings per year from cash for clunkers translates to about 57 minutes of America's output of the chief greenhouse gas.

Likewise, America will be using nearly 72 million fewer gallons of gasoline a year because of the program, based on the first quarter-million vehicles replaced. U.S. drivers go through that amount of gas every 4 1/2 hours, according to the Department of Energy.

For individuals, the program scores big. Vehicle owners who trade in an older, gas-guzzling truck or car for a newer fuel-efficient vehicle can get $3,500 to $4,500 in rebates. On average each year, they will save 287 gallons of gas, more than $700 in fuel costs and close to 3 tons in carbon dioxide pollution.

The problem is, there aren't enough of these individuals to dent the national or global energy and environmental problems.

"There's 260 million vehicles on the road and you're talking a quarter-million vehicles. It's not even close. It's just a drop in the bucket," said Bruce Belzowski, a scientist at the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute.

The House has passed a bill at President Obama's request to pump an additional $2 billion into the program. If the Senate follows suit, the potential effect on pollution and energy would triple. But experts say that it is still not much compared to the overall problem.

And some energy experts say the country is overpaying for the pollution reductions, mostly because cash for clunkers is more about stimulating the economy than cutting pollution.

Paying up to $4,500 per clunker means the government is spending more than $160 for every ton of carbon dioxide removed over 10 years, said MIT's Jacoby, co-author of the book "Transportation in a Climate-Constrained World."

That's five to 10 times more than the estimated per-ton cost of carbon dioxide for power plants in the cap-and-trade system passed earlier this year by the House.

Michael Gerrard, director of the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, who examined the clunkers program in an academic journal, said there are far better ways to cut energy use and greenhouse gases.

"It's not that it's a bad idea; just don't sell it as a cost-effective energy savings method," he said. "From an economic standpoint it seems to be a roaring success. From an environment and energy perspective, it's not where you would put your first dollar."

Talk about misrepresenting the issue... Sheesh! Of course Cash For Clunkers isn't going to solve the issue of the United States carbon dioxide emissions,but it's a step in the right direction to improving long-term fuel efficiency standards as well as stimulating American auto manufacturing.

Actually my co-worker has one of those horrid American Vehicles...It didnt qualify as a Clunker
The Ford Explorer was the #1 trade-in vehicle. Go figure.

 

[Betonblck]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Originally Posted by cguy610

For those that are against this program, are you against all government transfer payments? (Against all tax rebates, subsidies, etc, etc)

Or just this one.

true tax rebates? no...b/c tax income is MY money... not the govt's

So if your tax rebate ended up being higher than the amount that you paid into the system in a given year, would you tell the government to keepthe difference?

In addition, since government transfer payments, including subsidies have been a part of our tax code for such a long time, should I take it that you areagainst government using tax policy to influence consumer behavior. Basically, I'm asking do you think government oversteps its bounds by using businesssubsidies.

 

[hovkid]

You people are killing me already. You want me to pay for your heathcare and you want me to subsidize your new cars?

Dude, this is pathetic already. Your president is a joke.

Who read that article in the Sunday NYT Magazine? Article was all about all the rascist/non-politically correct type stuff he says and passed it off as hissense of humor.

This !%%! is ridiculous. Any other president would get taken to the wall for half this crap.

I WANT A GODDAMN ITEMIZED INVOICE OF WHERE EVERY DOLLAR I PAID IN TAXES WENT AT THE END OF EACH FISCAL YEAR. I literally want to see "KINGLOUISXIV TradedIn His Ford Explorer and You Subsidized $4,500 Worth of his New Ford Focus."

 

[(*Fin)]

at the idea of paying $3000-$4500 for automobiles worth considerablyless and calling it an investment to spark the economy. All this tax payer money flying around while home owners struggle to keep their homes.

 

[Betonblck]

Originally Posted by HOVKid

You people are killing me already. You want me to pay for your heathcare and you want me to subsidize your new cars?

Dude, this is pathetic already. Your president is a joke.

Who read that article in the Sunday NYT Magazine? Article was all about all the rascist/non-politically correct type stuff he says and passed it off as his sense of humor.

This !%%! is ridiculous. Any other president would get taken to the wall for half this crap.

I WANT A GODDAMN ITEMIZED INVOICE OF WHERE EVERY DOLLAR I PAID IN TAXES WENT AT THE END OF EACH FISCAL YEAR. I literally want to see "KINGLOUISXIV Traded In His Ford Explorer and You Subsidized $4,500 Worth of his New Ford Focus."

With 140-150 million total tax payers, it's costing you less than 20 bucks. That's nothing. Just wait until Obama raises the cap on SSI taxes, thenyou'll have something to really complain about.

 

[thegr8blkhope]

the repo business is booming now.

 

[ninjahood]

Originally Posted by sneakerfan93

My mom just exchanged her 1994 Lexus ES 300

for a brand new 2009 IS 250 sedan

...I think the program is pretty reliable for people to get rid of their old cars and buy a new one.

but think about it like this....that 1994 was probably still ridin around good...that car could've gone to someone who can't afford a newcar, instead its being junked.