The Spectacle Blog
Congress voted to waste $1 billion on the "cash for clunkers" program, essentially paying people to pay in older vehicles. The American people think the idea is stupid, but will take the money if offered. So the budget has been broken and Congress has voted to waste even more money.
A Rasmussen Reports survey conducted in mid-June showed that 17% of Americans were Very Likely to take advantage of the "Cash for Clunkers
" program. Another 18% said they were Somewhat Like to do so.
Despite the willingness of people to accept the money if it was available, 54% opposed the "Cash for Clunkers" proposal and just 35% were in favor the plan. Twelve percent (12%) were undecided.
The Cash for Clunkers plan was designed to encourage people to trade in old cars for new, more fuel-efficient models. At the time of the survey, Congress had just passed the legislation and sent it to President Obama for his signature. Since it has become available, the number of people signing up has greatly exceeded government estimates and the program has already reached its initial one billion dollar spending limit. The House of Representatives quickly approved an additional $2 billion for the program and the Senate is set to vote on it next week.
Well, don't worry, be happy. With a deficit of nearly $2 trillion, what's another couple billion among taxpayers?!
About the Author
Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and the Senior Fellow in International Religious Persecution at the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is author of Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics (Crossway).
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