Report: Cash for clunkers program suspended
Like KFC's grilled-chicken giveaway, Washington's cash-for-clunkers program apparently proved so popular that the brakes got applied barely after it left the driveway. You shoulda gotten in line first thing. Expect cash for clunkers to be revived, however. After so much buildup and publicity, the howls from the customers and the dealers will prompt a second phase. The Washington Post reports:
The government's $1 billion "cash for clunkers" program, designed to boost stagnant auto sales, will be suspended at midnight Thursday because it is almost out of money just six days after it started.Passed by Congress in late June to help the flagging U.S. auto industry, the program gives vouchers to consumers who trade in their gas-guzzling cars for more fuel-efficient models. But money set aside for the program, which started six days ago, is now close to running out or may have run out, as the program has been well publicized, the source said.
Comments
How can the program be out of money? I thought Ben Bernanke had personally ordered the printing presses to run all night.
Posted by: Dan | July 30, 2009 11:47 PM
My 17 year old Buick doesn't qualify.
Posted by: AVC | July 31, 2009 7:41 AM
And they want to run our healthcare system? HA!!!
Posted by: Nick | July 31, 2009 9:16 AM
This means that program WORKS if it was that popular.
It's giving dealerships a boost, although the environmental benefits are a drop in the bucket. They should have made the rules more simple and tough- i.e. only giving credit for those that improve to over 40 MPG vehicles.
Unfortunately, we need government intervention to get out of the current situation and all experts agree on that. In the future, when/if we are booming again, the purse strings need to be pulled tight so we can pay off our deficit before it gets out of reach. But right now, we must spend, carefully.
Also, the healthcare situation is a completely different animal and something that MUST be reformed. The current format's costs are spiraling out of control. A public plan is necessary.
Posted by: Nick | July 31, 2009 11:07 AM