quasi Report This Comment
Date: July 31, 2009 03:41PM

How many other of these new, rushed into enactment government programs have been so badly miscalculated? This is exactly why the healthcare issue needs a lot of consideration and not just something hastily thrown together.




WASHINGTON (AP) — The government's popular "cash for clunkers" program may be running out of money after only a matter of days as car shoppers flock to dealerships to take advantage of the rebates.

The White House said Thursday it was assessing its options amid concerns the $1 billion budget for rebates for new car sales may have been depleted. The program officially began last week and has been heavily publicized by automakers and dealers.

Transportation Department officials called lawmakers earlier Thursday to alert them of plans to suspend the program as early as Friday. But a White House official said later the program had not been suspended and they were reviewing their options to keep the program funded.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said they were working to "assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program. Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid CARS transactions that have taken place to date will be honored."

Dubbed the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, the program offers owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle, in exchange for scrapping their old vehicle. Congress last month approved the plan to boost auto sales and remove some inefficient cars and trucks from the roads.

The program was scheduled to last through Nov. 1 or until the money ran out, but few predicted it would be depleted in days. Through late Wednesday, 22,782 vehicles had been purchased through CARS and nearly $96 million had been spent.

But dealers raised concerns about large backlogs in the processing of the deals in the government system. A survey of 2,000 dealers by the National Automobile Dealers Association found about 25,000 deals had not yet been approved by the government, or nearly 13 trades per store.

It suggested that with about 23,000 dealers taking part in the program, car dealers may already have surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $1 billion program.

"There's a significant backlog of 'cash for clunkers' deals that make us question how much funding is still available in the program," said Bailey Wood, a spokesman for the dealers association.

The reports that the CARS program could be suspended created confusion among many dealers, who had showrooms filled with car shoppers looking to scrap their gas guzzlers.

Alan Helfman, general manager of River Oaks Chrysler Jeep in Houston, said he was worried that the government wouldn't pay for some of his clunker deals. His dealership has completed paperwork on about 20 sales under the program, but in some cases the titles haven't been obtained yet or the vehicles aren't on his lot.

"There's no doubt I'm going to get hammered on a deal or two," Helfman said.

The clunkers program was set up to boost U.S. auto sales and help struggling automakers through the worst sales slump in more than a quarter-century. Sales for the first half of the year were down 35 percent from the same period in 2008, and analysts are predicting only a modest recovery during the second half of the year.

So far this year, sales are running under an annual rate of 10 million light vehicles, but as recently as 2007, automakers sold more than 16 million cars and light trucks in the United States.

Lawmakers said they would try to find additional funding for the program, which under the legislation could grow to $4 billion for the funding of up to 1 million new car sales.

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who developed the legislation, said he would work with the Obama administration to keep the program going "until it reaches its goal of helping consumers take 1 million gas guzzlers off the road."

Others suggested using unspent economic stimulus funding. "I can think of no better use for unspent stimulus dollars that are gathering dust than financing 'Cash for Clunkers,'" said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich. Michigan lawmakers planned to meet on Friday to discuss the program.

Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said they would work with "the congressional sponsors and the administration to quickly review the results of the initiative."

General Motors Co. spokesman Greg Martin said the automaker hoped "there's a will and way to keep the CARS program going a little bit longer."

doofy Report This Comment
Date: July 31, 2009 04:12PM

Cash for Clunkers? Whats next!? Government supplied housing,free cars and get to work 361 days a year with an appointed 4 day vacation once

a year in Yalta?

Mrkim Report This Comment
Date: July 31, 2009 04:20PM

Rushing into legislation as serious to our nation as is the concept of national healthcare without thoroughly exploring the intricacies of the proposed legislation and all its myriad ramifications to the public and the economy as a whole is not only bad policy but straight up foolhardy.

If we have to have the "economic stimulus" crammed down our throats (as we were by a call that it HAD be done RIGHT NOW!) I'd certainly be more in favor of seeing some of those funds applied to a program such as the CARS program that not only stimulates domestic sales, but serves the people expected to have to pay for the stimulus funding in the 1st place

quasi Report This Comment
Date: July 31, 2009 05:07PM

I agree that the money is better used by directly assisting citizens which will stimulate things by sending it up the food chain. The automakers and lenders can earn the money rather than just having it handed to them. Things are pretty desparate for a lot of people right now so folks want a quick solution but it's alarming that things are being rammed through with little time for thought, and this is a perfect example of what can happen.

madmex2000 Report This Comment
Date: July 31, 2009 05:14PM

So you all agree to agree. Wow, handshakes for evryone. Kudos. Your a smart group. To bad we can't put you folks on your favorite T.v show so you can express such beautiful ideas. Yah you can go on right after that Orly Tates ladie whos spearheading the birther movemment.\

Sure theres flaws...Cash for clunkers was to stimuulate sales.





am i the only Democrates that come s in here? i feel awsome comeing here and stretching my libreal nuts across your chopping block. Wanna Batwing

fossil_digger Report This Comment
Date: July 31, 2009 06:33PM

i'll agree that totalitarians think they are winning, and anarchists think they are winning, but the real people are being bent over and snapped off.

madmex2000 Report This Comment
Date: July 31, 2009 06:56PM

I mean come on man...
the Republican Party is a fear mongering party. i mean dont this shit get old

The tolotarians are takeing over
the gays are here
the communist wanna take your freedoms
libreals hate america
athiest wanna kill god
Democrates are giveing aid and comfort to the enemy
Socialism is comeing
obama hates whites
they wanna take awy your freedoms.
Day in day out the same ole tired fear banter......

Democrate by choice because its less psycho....Democrates arn't perfect . I hate barney frank and some far left nuts.

remember Obama ain't been office but 6 months/jan28 . You were fucked before that,and know one argues that.

I closed my business Dec2008, been in business for 10 years. Couldnts survive and didnt wanna go into debt. The whole strip mall i had my business in is closed. 1 by 1 we all closed our doors.looks like a ghost town there and still today its sit vacant, the whole strip mall.
My fault for letting America elect that dumbass BUSH.
I take the blame........
Can't blame Obama can I.............................

GAK67 Report This Comment
Date: July 31, 2009 10:32PM

I normally stay out of these arguments over US politics, but I have to say I agree with the concept of not rushing into serious legislation.

FrostedApe Report This Comment
Date: August 01, 2009 06:29AM

I'm fortunate enough to work somewhere that has an incredible health benefit, so, naturally, I'm seriously opposed to anything that will inevitably destroy that. I wish everyone in America had as good a plan as I have, but not if it means taking it away from me. If that makes me "selfish", I'm happy with that.

jgoins Report This Comment
Date: August 01, 2009 12:15PM

The best stimulus package would be to take a trillion dollars and divide it among every American with the provision it cannot be put into savings. Then we could stimulate the economy ourselves the right way.

fossil_digger Report This Comment
Date: August 01, 2009 02:41PM

"stimulating the economy" by printing more money and then claiming you have done something to help is...well....i thought you know better than that.

jgoins Report This Comment
Date: August 03, 2009 10:49AM

If they were going to print more money then they should have given it to the people, it would have done more good then what they did with it anyway.

fossil_digger Report This Comment
Date: August 03, 2009 03:36PM

GOD DAMNIT!! PRINTING MONEY FUCKS EVERYONE!!

Mrkim Report This Comment
Date: August 03, 2009 05:21PM

Unless you're the Federal Reserve. They like that 30% interest we pay 'em for every dollar minted.

However, the point is certainly correct, the solution does NOT lie in minting more $$$

quasi Report This Comment
Date: August 03, 2009 10:53PM

I print more money all the time. Works for me.

Don't tell anyone.

FrostedApe Report This Comment
Date: August 04, 2009 04:37AM

So... How long until people start getting tired of their little shit-box cars and put them up on e-bay? Six months?

jgoins Report This Comment
Date: August 04, 2009 11:15AM

I just did a google search for Fort Knox and found out that the gold there is worth $135 billion, how much is our national debt now? Is the world still on the gold standard? How long before we have to learn Chinese?

Mrkim Report This Comment
Date: August 05, 2009 03:09PM

Seems the attempt to find an additional 2 billion in funding for the CARS program has hit a bit of a speed bump. Several congressional members have asked for verification of distribution of the previously earmarked funds for the program and aren't getting the info they're requesting before committing additional resources to the program. All of this is happening at a time when the current administration has vowed to make governmental workings more transparent than in previous times/administrations.

With data transfers of such things being done completely by computers these days it is odd that such requests couldn't be addressed in a more expedited fashion, especially when this is intended to facilitate another of the puppetmasters programs funding. Kinda makes one wonder





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2009 03:11PM by Mrkim.

jgoins Report This Comment
Date: August 06, 2009 11:59AM

"governmental workings more transparent"

To my way of thinking this means government working would become invisible meaning we can't see what the government is doing. Aren't we supposed to see what the government is doing?