Cash for Clunkers Program Is a Disgrace

I hope the Senate does not authorize further funding for the “Cash for Clunkers” CARS program. This program pays people several thousand dollars to destroy cars by running their motors with sodium silicate in the oil. These are cars that could have been sold (or perhaps given) to poorer people who need cheap transportation. Instead we’re purposely burning up their motors.

The program pays people a few thousand dollars to trade in an old car for one with good fuel economy. The person buying the new car receives a few thousand dollars from the government plus whatever salvage value their old car is worth after having its motor intentionally trashed.

Environmentalists say: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Trashing working items is the opposite of reusing. We should reuse stuff where possible because it takes energy to make new products and to salvage the old ones. The justification for the CARS program is improved fuel economy, but does this really offset the loss of value from trashing decent old cars? Why doesn’t the government simply buy carbon offset credits to offset the emissions from older cars?

This is just a give away to car manufacturers. We need to get away from building so many cars. We need to get away from throwing stuff away and replacing it with new items for questionable reasons. We need to use our money wisely where it can have the most impact on the environment, because the impact of carbon emissions today will be very costly to future generations. The CARS program goes against everything environmentalism stands for.