Cash for Clunkers’ failure: minorities, poor people hardest hit.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  November 7th at 10:30 AM  | 

Washington Post’s Ezra Klein’s substitute writer Brad Plumer got the unenviable job of having to admit that the government’s infamous Cash-for-Clunkers stealth auto dealership bailout – in which people traded in still-useable cars in exchange for trade-in money for a new car – didn’t particularly stimulate the economy, didn’t improve US car manufacturer’s market share, and “increased average fuel economy in the United States by | Read More »

Mercury fallout from the Cash-for-Clunkers program.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  August 31st at 03:30 PM  | 

Let’s walk through the mercury problem (H/T: Instapundit). Automakers used mercury as a component for various auto systems until 2004. They stopped because mercury is toxic, and it gets into stuff that we eat (the actual level of risk is in fact not relevant for this discussion). People get very touchy about toxic elements being thrown out with the rest of the garbage, so there’s | Read More »

Cash-for-Clunkers hurting charities.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  August 17th at 01:30 PM  | 

Already by about 50 million, which is real money for anybody (except a Democratic legislator, of course).  It’ll likely get worse: The popular program is being blamed for hurting charities that rely on donations of cars to fund social programs. Those charities say their donations have fallen up to 12-percent already since “Cash for Clunkers” was implemented. They fear that as time goes on, their | Read More »

Reconciling the paradox: how popular *is* Cash-for-Clunkers?

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  August 11th at 08:34 AM  | 

If you’re wondering how to reconcile the apparent paradox that the Cash-for-Clunkers program can be simultaneously popular… The federal government’s new “Cash for Clunkers” program got off to a rousing start over the past two weeks, with some new-car dealers reporting dozens of deals completed in just the first few days. Officially, the program began July 24 when the government released the final rules. The | Read More »

Brave, Brave Carnahan.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  August 5th at 07:42 AM  | 

When faced with a vigorous band of constituents who wished to loudly express their discomfort and annoyance with both Russ Carnahan’s specific and general voting records, the Congressman did the proper thing: he engaged with them.  He listened.  He explained why sometimes – to evoke Burke – you have to exercise your own judgement in representing your district, and not knee-jerk defer to constituent opinion.  | Read More »

Cash for clunkers program performing precisely as expected.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  July 30th at 09:30 AM  | 

The problem is that participating car dealers are currently on the hook for the trade-ins that they made in good faith, but have yet to see any of the deals signed off on by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There are problems with the online system, you see. Of course there are.  It’s a government program, remember? [Minnesota Auto Dealers Association vice president Scott] | Read More »