I just knew it was too good to be true. Cash for Clunkers was just such a . . . well—darn good program that you knew there had to be a catch.
And here it is. Environmentalists are complaining that the amount of gasoline the program would save is the equivalent of what Americans on the whole use in 4-and-a-half hours of driving on a typical day. Phrases like drop in the bucket are getting bandied about.
Why did they have to rain on my parade?
Comments 8
And you’re listening to competing information because…?
Your ideologuery needs serious work, HP.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Take heart – if it’s ticked off the enviroweenies it can’t be all bad.
Mostly, but not 100%.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Howard, brace yourself, or go mix another martini then come back, but that 4.5 hr figure could be very generous: excluding the full energy costs of manufacturing a new automobile; presuming that the murdered old cars were all or mostly actually being driven; excluding the energy costs to lower middle class and poor car buyers who have to search further and wider to acquire or service driveable vehicles, or, even better, keep even older and clunkier vehicles on the road longer.
Ecology’s hard – and then you die.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Because it reminds me of a bit of schtick many years ago on Sid Caesar’s Show of Shows. In it, Sid and the missus (played by Imogene Coca) are hosting a small dinner party, which through miscommunication, has turned into a blowout with some 70 guests. Sid, desperate for a solution to feeding so many people, finds 6 chicken livers in the freezer. On his way to the stove, the livers fall on the floor. He and Imogene stare down at the livers in disbelief for a poignant moment, after which he turns to her and says, “Now what?”
Here, Fearless Leader comes up with a nifty plan not only for taming the hordes of voters impatient for the recession to end but for appeasing the green lobby. And now suddenly, his chicken livers (so to speak) are spread over the kitchen floor.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Obama as Charles Hickenlooper! Who would have thought…
August 5th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
The environmentalists just haven’t gotten the word. The program’s a huge success because it’s popular. People like it and that’s what counts.
Besides, destroying a bunch of stuff and replacing it with new stuff is good for the economy. That’s because it’s fun–Larry Kudlow says so.
August 6th, 2009 at 6:15 am
If paying consumers cash to destroy usable cars is a good idea I think it’s obvious that exempting single pane windows from vandalism laws is an even better idea.
Going even further, the govt could offer a small bounty for single pane windows, thus creating a jobs program for unemployed youth while stimulating the economy and increasing energy efficiency as the single panes are replaced with doubles.
Let a million rocks be thrown!
August 6th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Sully, that’s a great improvement on CfC–smashing windows is way more fun! (You don’t get to wreck your car yourself.)
August 6th, 2009 at 9:34 am
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