Cash for Clunkers Options

[Snuffysmith]

Cash For Clunkers They’re breaking out the champagne again at the War Department:

House passes $106 billion war funding bill (AP) — War-funding legislation survived a fierce partisan battle in the House on Tuesday, a major step in providing commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan the money they would need for military operations in the coming months.

The $106 billion measure, in addition to about $80 billion for military operations, provides for an array of other spending priorities, including $7.7 billion to respond to the flu pandemic and more than $10 billion in development and security aid for Pakistan and Iraq as well as countries such as Mexico and the nation of Georgia.

The bill also extends credit to the IMF and contains a so-called “cash for clunkers” provision, “which gives people vouchers of up to $4,500 to trade in their old cars and buy new ones with higher fuel efficiency…”

So, when you trim away all the fat, it’s only $80 billion for the military. But remember, this is a supplemental spending bill, which means it’s not part of the Pentagon’s normal budget. In essence, it’s an $80 billion dollar bonus.

Does the Pentagon really deserve a bonus? Let’s take a look at its record over the past sixty years and see. Bear in mind, I’m only counting the ‘big’ wars here, not all of the ‘peace-keeping’ or ‘humanitarian’ missions, or the silly show biz bombings, like Libya or Sudan. Nor am I making any judgment about the morality or necessity of these wars. I’m just viewing them from a simple standard of win or loss. Here goes:

Korea, tie; Vietnam, loss; Panama, win; Iraq War I, win; Serbia, win; Afghanistan, loss; Iraq War II: This Time It’s Personal, They Tried To Kill My Daddy, loss.

By my reckoning, that makes the War Department 3-3-1 at the very thing that justifies their limitless funding, fighting wars. Given this record, I think all talk about supplemental spending increases is, to use the Pentagon’s own style, highly premature at this stage of operations.

And it gets even worse:

Passage of the bill, which provides funds through the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30, would bring to nearly $1 trillion the amount spent on the wars and other security matters since the Sept. 11 attacks. More than 70% of that has gone to Iraq, the Congressional Research Service said in an analysis.…

The Pentagon has said that without the bill the Army could start running out of war funds as early as July.

One trillion dollars over eight years and it’s still not enough, the Army could start running out of funds … They should move the Pentagon to Wall Street.

Cash for clunkers indeed.

Fortunately, the House debate over the bill wasn’t totally devoid of statemanship. Here’s what Dennis Kucinich had to say: “Another $106 billion, and all we get is a lousy war. Pretty soon that’s going to be about the only thing made in America: war.”

To which I can only say: Kucinich in 2012!

[rla]

Kucinich in 2012!

[Snuffysmith]

Honest Abe’s Used Auto Emporium has now been taken over by the entire US public. I wonder if the present Administration can fund a guy in a plaid suit, white socks and black shoes to be the Clunker Czar.

Von Mises and Ricardo are revolving in the graves at a Japanese auto’s 14,000 RPM. The Chicago School has decided to shut down and enter the used car business.

The used car market auctions are presently a disaster but now will give some enterprising crooks a stop loss at $4500. No one needs to steal from Medicare if they can turn in an old junker and get $4500 in a fake new car sale with the assistance of a crooked car dealer.

TRADE THAT CLUNKER
PROGRAM’S PROMISE: $4,500-PER-CAR
By PAUL THARP
Last updated: 2:07 am
June 19, 2009

Your old clunker can bring as much as a $4,500 check from Uncle Sam if you dump it to buy a new car — so long as it’s not another gas guzzler.

The government’s "cash for clunkers" incentive program designed to boost sales of fuel-efficient vehicles got the green light of Senate approval yesterday, and is on its way to be signed into law by President Barack Obama.

Ford Motor and General Motors have pressured Congress all year for the novel trade-in incentive to help break Detroit’s long and punishing sales slump.

A similar rebate program in Germany to clear clunkers off its roads caused new-car sales there to jump as much as 40 percent. Similar plans in China and France lifted sales by 15 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

Proponents are hoping for a busy autumn in vehicle sales. The first checks could start arriving by Sept. 1, with the program’s end set for Sept. 30.

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