Lets call this what it really is.. another hand out to the auto makers. The MAJORITY of the traded in clunkers I've seen so far are not clunkers. But let me digress, I asked people not in "auto related business's" what comes to their mind when I say clunker. I got tech terms like beater, hoopty, slammer, rust bucket, pos, and a few more. Those are NOT the majority of the cars being brought in in my area.
I have to agree with that. I traded in my 11 year old Dakota. It had over a 100,000 miles and was starting to get some rust, but I wouldn't say it was a clunker. It still ran good and I was planning on keeping it another 3-4 years, until this program came along. The dealer said almost all of the vehicles being traded in on the CfC program were pickups. So people aren't moving from an '88 Olds 88 to a Pontiac G3, they're moving from pickups to cars.
I don't think the program is good for the country. We need to balance the budget rather than borrow more money from China. But it was a catalyst to get me to trade to a fuel efficient vehicle. (I went with a bowtie HHS - the Dodge dealer was out of Calibers) Yes, it is basically a handout to dealers and auto manufacturers, but if we're wasting money anyway, it might as well be something that actually puts Americans back to work.
As far as the Glenn Beck segment, I agree with nearly everything GB says. I think the reason he is so popular is that he is saying what many of us are thinking. I'm more than a little skeptical on this one though. Seems a little too tin-foil-hat/black-helicopter to me.
