Silver Lining for Cash for Clunkers
We pay the farmer to use less of his land to grow crops. And now we’ve paid the consumer to junk an old auto and buy a new one--preferably from a company Washington owns. Ain’t we got fun?
Let’s face it: Things are clearly out of whack. The government deficit is soaring, so pray something good will happen and we’ll be all better. See, we’re already coming out of the recession. The stock market is recovering, unemployment is only 9 percent, but we may soon see higher energy taxes and our doctors being told how and whether to treat our ailments. Whew!
There’s a silver lining here at home, of course. Stafford county is doing well. No drought, that’s for sure this year. Also, unemployment here is way below most other places and house sales are looking up.
And two nice things locally happened in the cash for clunkers program--an otherwise poster child for government incompetence. (As a recent letter writer to the Wall Street Journal put it, “[We were encouraged] to swap our SUVs for miniature cars, explaining that the increase in highway death and crippling injury is a small price to pay for decreased carbon emissions.”)
I’m glad, though, that a neighbor could benefit by trading in a clunker under the program for a new, efficient Toyota. Even so, my happiness was tempered by the fact that the government-destroyed trade-in was a garage-kept low mileage 1991 Lincoln Continental in beautiful shape that some needy family would love to have possessed. So much for federal charity.
Another fine cash-for-clunkers deal involved commercial interests nearby. It demonstrated how upscale, attractive establishments can mutually benefit, even here on Garrisonville Road.
Seems that a traveling New Jersey family had pulled off I-95 for a rest and refueling stop at the closest WaWa, one of my favorite places. While there, they noticed the attractive Rosner Toyota showroom right next door. They took a closer look, especially at a new Prius out front. To make a long story short, they made a better deal on the spot--via the cash for clunkers program--than what they had been offered back home. Benefit: themselves and Stafford County residents and businesses. And who knows, the closing of area Interstate rest stops may have played a role also.
It remains to be seen whether or not the popular cash for clunkers program benefited car sales beyond its termination last week. Will dealer lots still be humming this fall? Or will the program’s success just rob subsequent deals?
And it’s not just that the program was popular. There are copy cats. The appliance makers are hustling to get another deal going: A $300 million cash-for-clunkers program to boost sales of energy-efficient home appliances.
Where it will all end--maybe a cash for hernia repair to boost federal health care’s chances?
By the way, my own 2004 Lincoln Town Car could have qualified for the cash for clunkers program. No thanks. My personal car-thrift program: I haven’t bought a new car since 1957, on purpose to save money. I was burned only once.
**********
Let’s face it: Things are clearly out of whack. The government deficit is soaring, so pray something good will happen and we’ll be all better. See, we’re already coming out of the recession. The stock market is recovering, unemployment is only 9 percent, but we may soon see higher energy taxes and our doctors being told how and whether to treat our ailments. Whew!
There’s a silver lining here at home, of course. Stafford county is doing well. No drought, that’s for sure this year. Also, unemployment here is way below most other places and house sales are looking up.
And two nice things locally happened in the cash for clunkers program--an otherwise poster child for government incompetence. (As a recent letter writer to the Wall Street Journal put it, “[We were encouraged] to swap our SUVs for miniature cars, explaining that the increase in highway death and crippling injury is a small price to pay for decreased carbon emissions.”)
I’m glad, though, that a neighbor could benefit by trading in a clunker under the program for a new, efficient Toyota. Even so, my happiness was tempered by the fact that the government-destroyed trade-in was a garage-kept low mileage 1991 Lincoln Continental in beautiful shape that some needy family would love to have possessed. So much for federal charity.
Another fine cash-for-clunkers deal involved commercial interests nearby. It demonstrated how upscale, attractive establishments can mutually benefit, even here on Garrisonville Road.
Seems that a traveling New Jersey family had pulled off I-95 for a rest and refueling stop at the closest WaWa, one of my favorite places. While there, they noticed the attractive Rosner Toyota showroom right next door. They took a closer look, especially at a new Prius out front. To make a long story short, they made a better deal on the spot--via the cash for clunkers program--than what they had been offered back home. Benefit: themselves and Stafford County residents and businesses. And who knows, the closing of area Interstate rest stops may have played a role also.
It remains to be seen whether or not the popular cash for clunkers program benefited car sales beyond its termination last week. Will dealer lots still be humming this fall? Or will the program’s success just rob subsequent deals?
And it’s not just that the program was popular. There are copy cats. The appliance makers are hustling to get another deal going: A $300 million cash-for-clunkers program to boost sales of energy-efficient home appliances.
Where it will all end--maybe a cash for hernia repair to boost federal health care’s chances?
By the way, my own 2004 Lincoln Town Car could have qualified for the cash for clunkers program. No thanks. My personal car-thrift program: I haven’t bought a new car since 1957, on purpose to save money. I was burned only once.
**********
posted by Ben Blankenship at
11:42 AM
