I was only vaguely aware of this program while it was occurring, as there was no way we would be buying a new car during the great "recession". It is only now, as I have been talking with people in the car repair and used car business that I have become aware of the horrible truth: "Cash for Clunkers" was actually a nefarious scheme to destroy perfectly good cars and engines in order to deprive thrifty middle and working class Americans of the opportunity to recycle them rather than be enslaved by the costs of a new vehicle. https://www.google.com/search?q=des...ome..69i57.29289j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Although this helped car dealerships, it of course harmed repair shops and used car dealerships---and it is just another indication of how our financially privileged elite thinks, and how contemptuous it is of the needs of everyone else in this country. The repairmen and small dealers I have been talking with are still stricken, disgusted, and grieving by the vast wastage of hard-won resources in terms of valuable used parts for car repairs, as well as the destruction of numerous vehicles that could have helped boost families from poverty by providing affordable transportation. And this was done callously by the party that touts itself as "for the poor". http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/24/shed-a-tear-for-clunkers-that-deserved-better/ God forbid workers doing the hard physical labor in this country would finallyhave access to some decent cars at an affordable price.
Actually, I've been reading reviews on some of those old cars and the really good ones don't seem to be much worse in mileage than what we're getting foisted on us now. I have to turn in my '98 Cutlass because it's rusting off of its frame. For the price of repairing it I can get something about six years younger.
There is no way that the program could be successful, because too many businesses were affected by it. It was a stupid idea by someone who had no clue about the automobile business.
If the Democrats made the slightest attempt to understand the needs of the destitute people they claim to represent they would have realized that lack of transportation is a major impediment to employment, and come up with a better scheme--such as a "used cars for work" program.
My view is that politicians of both parties understand the needs of the underclass, but the key is how they address those needs. Handouts are not the answer.
I did not mean handouts exactly. More, making cars financially accessible--especially since their plan was to destroy them. You can't get decent public transportation to many jobs now; they are too spread out. By the way--most of us consider the "underclass" the welfare class, not workers and middle class. Of course, many of us also realize the actual goal of the financially elite is to just have two classes--upper and lower. This is not how it has historically been in the US.
You are right. I meant 'working class'. I think that the financially elite acknowledge the working and middle class.
It was a handout to the auto manufacturers and new car dealers. Used cars don't help auto manufacturers.
The workers needed it even more. They were the ones losing their jobs and their homes. It was an extremely wasteful policy--car motors were deliberately destroyed so they could not be reused.
