‘Cash for clunkers’: Money well spent?

As a “free-market capitalist supply-sider,” I usually hate government spending, said Larry Kudlow in National Review Online. So why do I love Washington’s “cash for clunkers” program? Because it’s one federal initiative that actually works. The program offers cash credits of up to $4,500 to car buyers who trade in old gas-guzzlers for new, fuel-efficient models, and it has been this summer’s big hit. As of last week, Americans had scrapped 250,000 clunkers in favor of new vehicles, pumping some lifeblood into the ailing auto industry and saving jobs. That’s well worth the $1 billion spent so far—and the $2 billion Congress just added to keep the program going. As one of the buyers who traded in a clunker, said Dan Rodricks in the Baltimore Sun, I have to agree. I’d been balking at buying a new car, but thanks to “cash for clunkers,” I’ve dumped my gas-guzzling, decrepit 10-year-old minivan for “an affordable compact that should hit between 30 and 35 miles a gallon.” And I’m helping the economy in the bargain. “What’s not to like?”

Plenty, said Steve Chapman in the Chicago Tribune. The buying frenzy the program has created is largely an illusion, because it’s likely that the government handouts simply encouraged people who already wanted a new car to buy now, instead of a few months from now. Some auto dealers say other would-be car buyers held out on their purchases for weeks, waiting for the clunkers program to kick in. As for environmental advantages, they will be minimal. “If you swap a gas hog for a less-thirsty model, you’ll probably drive the new vehicle more than you drove the old one—because each mile will cost you less.”

I have a different complaint, said Anna Shaff in The Washington Post. Since 1986, I’ve carefully nurtured my leaky, balky Volvo station wagon, deferring repairs while I “made do for the sake of greater priorities.” And what’s my reward? Nothing. My car isn’t on the government’s list of eligible vehicles. If I’d been more self-indulgent and bought a Hummer or a Ford Expedition on credit a few years back, I could trade it in and get a big reward from Uncle Sam. What a strange message: If you were selfish and bought a gas-guzzler, “you win the brass ring.” If, by contrast, you’ve been a model of thrift and frugality, “you draw a dunce cap.”

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