Government math, you fact checkers can check this out..

The average clunker got 15.8 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 759 gallons a year of gasoline.

The replacement vehicle averaged 24.9 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 481 gallons a year.

So, the average clunker transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 278 gallons per year.

They claim: 700,000 vehicles - so that's 194,600 million gallons / year.

The average the barrel of oil makes 19.9 gallons of gas
That equates to a bit over 9.778 million barrels of oil.

9.778 million barrels of oil costs 733, 417 million dollars at 75/bbl

So, we all contributed to spending $3 billion to save $733 million a year.

if you calculate interest on 3 billion at 10% over 5 years it will cost 100 million plus interest charges,, the break even point will be in about 6 years,,

but we know the government and it will never be paid back so our great grand kids can do the note on an infinity (interest only) loan. The same kind they tell us not to use.

Let's also analyze something,, if Obama told you during his campaign that he was going to have a clunker program and then he told you again a couple of months before the program that he was going to do it it July,,, would you wait a year or a couple of months to get rid of your third car? or a car that was in the backyard because you couldn't get anything for it?

So about 700,000 people waited and it made the program look great, seasonly we sell a lot more cars in the summer, if you divide 700k by 3 months, we would have sold that many anyway historically.

Plus that doesn't factor all the clunkers that were ten year old low mileage cars that low wage earners and large families need to get back and forth to their jobs and their kids jobs to make ends meet, that is all they could afford, now they get to suffer more by paying more and higher insurance and taxes and Joe the mechanic corner garage guy won't have as many cars to fix so he will lay off his employees and these cars will be off the tax roles and won't provide replacement parts for the ones that are still on the streets.

Not to mention that most of these cars could be sold at buy here pay here or "note lots" using the dealers money for financing because no bank would risk their money on a loan. Because the Government got involved in Banking rules and loaned way too much money to bad credit people and now the credit market is horrible. Now those dealers are living "supply and demand economics
', you know "low supply" equals higher prices. So the working man will have higher payments and the dealer will have more repossesions.

Plus small auctions all over America just lost 700,000 transaction that helps them employ thousands of Americans and now they lose about 350 per transaction at a minimum of revenue (another 250 million) and the hit's keep coming!

They spent 220 million (with Citibank (another Bailout recipient)) on a website that didn't work and adminstration of the program.

Plus of course, most of the money according to the government went to Foreign car manufacturers, because Government involvement, stopped production of GM and Chrylser and they weren't making cars for 4 months. Hello! don't make any can't sell any!

They knew exactly how many cars were out there and which manufacturer had what, but the media buzz was so good for Obamas' program that they had to pass more,,,,straight to the people that excluded Domestic manufacturers when they had similar programs in their countries.

Plus they did not pay any vouchers for almost two months, so the dealers "loaned" the government 3 billion dollars for two months that dealers desperately needed to buy more inventory to sell. if we turn our inventory every 30 days that cost over 300 million in potential profit (10% return very,very optimistic).

I could go on forever.

How good a deal was that ??? The program cost American Taxpayers way more money than it helped.

I listened to a former Clinton and both Bush economic advisor in January of 2008 at a conference and he said at that time, Gas prices would peak in the summer pushing us off the cliff into a short recession, there would be a credit tightening and we would recover in early 2010. Now how can he make those statements in front of 250 people a year and a half ahead of time? He said our capitalist economy would fix itself? We have been railroaded!

They'll probably do a great job with health care though!!

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Why Live in Pain?

rep+

You nailed it. And for this he gets credit?

I tip my hat to u sir.

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Current2tentgrow http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...ml#post3449848 i put a little jim beam in my res and next thing you know there is a male plant beating on a female and 2 clones were fucking

Cash for Clunkers wasn't about helping the environment OR saving money. It was an attempt to raise automobile sales figures and save the auto makers/dealers from going out of business. I'd say it was pretty successful.

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A government big enough to give you everything you want, makes Santa Claus pretty much obsolete.

spot on man.
Another thing to keep in mind about the whole clunker sham.
Is their was no trade in value.
uasually when you go though this ordeal.

A person would get some trade in money and bargain down the price on the new car.
So yeah you got 4500 off
but these new cars were sold at sticker price.
So you basically gave away a car which you had paid for and was running.

If you look at the interest payments plus the actual note of the new vehicle, you are getting hosed.

So it was a little more to fill up in gas.
You could fill up 10x before you caught up to the car note and interest payments of a new car.
and on top of that you still have to fuel your new vehicle.
Some people dont understand basic math.

So with the figures you provided now means 700 thousand people just went into debt,in a bad economy
at least another 15-20k when they had no car loans existing.
but then again most familys have more than one car.
And Im sure that soccer mom van with the dvd player isnt paid off yet.
So now the household bills just got tighter.
real fucking smart.

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Under $100

You nailed it! It as an attempt to get people buying cars, solely for the sake of them buying cars. It was another bailout for the auto companies, which sucks. It worked, but it sucks that it's come to this. I say, let the businesses fail.

And remember, Bush set the precedent here. Before everyone jumps on the Obama = Hitler train, remember that he is not solely to blame for the bailout. I dislike the guy quite a bit, but let's be rational.

Not only did they get 700,000 people to buy cars, but they also took 700,000 potential USED car sales and wiped them off the face of the earth when they demolished the "traded in" clunkers. Pretty effective way to diminish used car sales versus new car sales, wouldn't you say?

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A government big enough to give you everything you want, makes Santa Claus pretty much obsolete.

Yes. Used car sales will be diminished. I think they should have more responsibly handles the 'clunkers' turned in.

I agree. They were perfectly good vehicles with years of use left on them. So, they are "rated" at less MPG - big deal! Doesn't mean you throw them away. Talk about wasteful. Not to mention that those 700,000 crushed vehicles have to go somewhere. They don't just disappear. Instead of being driven by people who could have benefited from their use, they're sitting in a landfill or junkyard somewhere.

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A government big enough to give you everything you want, makes Santa Claus pretty much obsolete.

They might sit at a junk yard, but they wouldn't go to a landfill. Cars are for the most part completely recycled.

A fella I work with has an older Toyota pickup, but his box is rusty, he saw that someone had traded in their clunker Toyota and that was sitting at the yard, he went to inquire if they could sell him the box...nope, they had to crush it, couldn't sell any of the parts off of it. They then proceeded to dent every panel with a sledge hammer just to make sure that my coworker would not ask about it again.

My neighbor bought a brand new Chevy Malibu 6 months ago, she actually paid less than someone who traded in their clunker. so like the joe camel said, they got totally hosed from both sides and now they have another payment to make for the next 4-7 years.

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It is far easier to ignorantly control others than it is to wisely control yourself.