Surprise: Cash For Clunkers Cost Taxpayers $24,000 Per Car

Proof • October 29, 2009

At that rate the government could have just bought the cars from the dealers and called it “stimulus.”

American taxpayers paid a lot of cash for those clunkers: $24,000 for each new car sold, according to a study released Wednesday.
That’s a lot of money, especially when the so-called “cash for clunker” stimulus program offered only a maximum $4,500 in cash for each person who traded in an old gas-guzzler and bought a new car.
The government could have done almost as well by just giving away cars for free, instead of creating an elaborate incentive program, according to an analysis by the automotive information firm Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, Calif.

Just to drive that point home, we’re talking about $24,000 in costs to offer a $4,500 car purchase subsidy. And these are the same people who tell us they can make health care more efficient.
The waste of money this represents becomes particularly clear when you realize that all “cash for clunkers” did was subsidize an immediate sales spike at the cost of future sales. We didn’t create new car sales. We robbed car sales from the future.
Don’t believe me? Go down to your local car dealer and ask how sales are this month.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics

Mongol

inmates running the asylum
sayanything-4416

How much does each mortgage deduction cost the taxpayers? Each Wall Street bonus? Each Iraq mercenary "contractor"?
sayanything-106

STFU!
AKA WOOF

Nobody was buying cars before the program .
690,000 cars were sold.
Are dealers weeping?
No.
republicans are bitching,
even the ones who got $4500.
Mongol

LOL BerlinWALL boy. I am glad you are asking about mortgage deductions. Do you remember Bambi's earlier career as a lawyer? Do you even wonder if he had any role to play in sub prime crisis?. Or would such thoughts be considered blasphemous in your religion? I know, I know… it's heresy. Now go do some "community" project to amend for your sins.
HG

Dino stumbled and bumbled onto something. If the mortgage deduction does cost 500% to process and manage, get rid of it. Just lower the tax rates at all levels to compensate for say… let's split it, 250% of the acutual mortgage deductions taken the previous year and be done with it. It's a win, win.

As far as wall street is concerned, let the "too big to fail" companies, fail. We shouldn't be spending a single taxpayer cent on corporate bailouts.

Finally, we'll all have to excuse dino's ignorance of the importance of our efforts in fighting the terrorists on thier soil… he's a far left liberal pervert who doesn't know any better… well, any thing, for that matter.
http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

That's about 80-85% overhead on delivering benefit to the end user, or as they say in government: "Typical".
Mongol

"Nobody was buying cars before the program ."

oh the sweet sweet smell of arrogant ignorance in the morning. It's like donuts and coffee, but no calories. I hope you can read, right? Now roll over… lol http://www.nada.org/Publications/NADADATA/monthly…
sayanything-453

Goon! Have you been taking your chill pills lately?

I am worried about you.

All that hostility………..
jimmypop

"Nobody was buying cars before the program ."

and nobody is buying them now because they all got their free money for a car they would have bought anyway.

even worse, the used car market has gone dry so the there cost are going up. i have access to auction websites and check the fargo auction every week. everything used has gone up because all the semi-poor used cars are gone and used car guys still need to fill their lots.
sayanything-453

Goon! What is wrong with you? Too much pent up hostility.

Take some chill pills, will ya?
j.l.

Ellinas- Maybe comment on the post, will ya?
sayanything-4416

Goon suffers from a bad Dino crush.
sayanything-453

Goon suffers from a bad Dino crush

I believe that to be true. It is time he comes out of the closet.

It is very liberating I am told…….
Gus

Ahh Goon, I see someone taught you what "STFU" means. The rest of us have known for years, so you don't look as clever as you thought.
http://Array sayanything-8606

And apparently no one is buying cars after the program.

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Surprise: Cash For Clunkers Cost Taxpayers $24,000 Per Car

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