Posts Tagged ‘cash for clunkers’

I am going to post this email I received yesterday and leave it to you to “do the math” and then ask yourself one question:

Would anyone in their right mind (outside of the government) think this to be a wise investment?

A vehicle at 15 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 800 gallons a year of gasoline.

A vehicle at 25 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 480 gallons a year.

So, the average clunker transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.

They claim 700,000 vehicles, so that’s 224 million gallons / year.

That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.

5 million barrels of oil is about ¼ of one day’s US consumption.

And, 5 million barrels of oil costs about $350 million dollars at $75/bbl.

So, we all contributed to spending $3 billion to save $350 million.

How good a deal was that???

If you are wondering how efficient the government will be if they succeed in getting their hands on the national health care system, you need go no further than the recent “surprise hit” program called Cash For Clunkers.  Currently, after realizing that 1 billion tax payer dollars would not be enough, Congress is injecting another 2 billion tax payer dollars into the rebate program.  That may put forth the picture of a wildly successful government “handout” but, according to many dealerships, it is not the whole picture.  Consider the following link for clarification:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20090819/ts_usnews/howtoavoidthecashforclunkerssnarl

As usual, the government gets the cart before the horse.  Here is a quote from the article that explains why so many dealers are pulling out of the program:

(There are) “225 people (assigned) to processing those 400,000 (plus) claims…” That calculates out to nearly 2,000 claims handled per person! Wow!  Talk about efficiency!!

Surprised?  Well, don’t be.  After all, this is the same government that has brought us Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, all well on their way to insolvency!  Can’t hardly wait for those long lines at the emergency rooms if they “succeed” at gaining control of one sixth of the country’s economy!

In fact, maybe the government could make the end of life counseling sessions more palatable, if they offered to pay the funeral expenses!  Check out this article that someone titled “Cash For Corpses”:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-19-funerals_N.htm

Better not get sick or grow old or you just might end up on the government’s list to be the next candidate for the “trade in factor equivalent” of “cash for clunkers” when they nationalize health care!

And, you know what they do with those trade ins, don’t you?

http://www.the912project.com/2009/08/21/821-this-is-chilling-oregon-gives-us-a-govt-health-care-preview/

As we sort through the various bailouts the government has been involved in lately, one thing seems to jump out at me: no matter how you slice it, the rich win again.

Don’t get me wrong; I oppose class envy every step of the way.  The thing is, government has found a way to bash the “evil rich” while making sure they come out the winner.  Look at the bank bailouts.

Big banks get bailout money, little banks are allowed to fail.  Freddy and Fannie.  Huge bailout.  Goldman Sachs; winner.  Bear Sterns; loser.  Now, consider the auto industry.

Again, the big players are bailed out at taxpayer expense.  Not only that but now there is “cash for clunkers”.  While  many would say: “well for once, the government has done something right!  In fact, it has been so wildly popular, it is in danger of running out of funding within the first month of it being introduced.”  As a result, congress is pushing to insert more funding into the plan to keep it going.  Well, you might ask “what is so wrong with that?”  I will tell you by way of this link and, in so doing, show you why the rich win again:

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/08/03/story3.html?b=1249272000^1870105&page=1

Bottom line: in attempting to do something good for the economy, the government once again has taken the side of those most able to afford it, while placing the burden of making ends meet on the backs of the little guy.  To prove my point, let me ask some questions. Who can afford a car payment in today’s unstable job market?  The rich!  Who has to settle with a used car instead of a new one?  The poor!  Where are a lot of the used cars going instead of the used car lots for the poor to buy?  The scrap heap!  Where does that leave the little guy?  Having to pay more for the used cars that are left.

Now, does that sound fair?  Does that sound like the government is looking out for the so called middle class?  I don’t think so.  Wow, I can hardly wait for them to nationalize health care so that the uninsured can gain access to the same level of health care the rich have!