Government Claims CARS Incentive Successful

The Cash for Clunkers program ended Monday, August 24, at 8 pm EST. The official website, Cars.gov, claims the program was a huge success. The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) proves how out of touch the American government is with the citizens. This program is an incentive for the well-to-do, yet discriminatory to those of a lesser economic status.

The CARS incentive was created to induce people to trade in older model cars, vans and trucks, for new model-year vehicles with better gas mileage. The vehicles for trade in must be on an approved government list, must be less that 25 years old, and generally have to get less than 18 mpg. Further, the vehicle must have been registered and continually covered by insurance for the entire preceding year. The credit on the trade in varies from $3,500 to $4,500.

These caveats prevent most lower-income individuals from taking advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program, who often cannot afford to insure a vehicle for an entire year, and cannot afford to trade in a car or truck owned outright for a vehicle that requires monthly payments. As this credit must be used toward the purchase of a new car, it seems to be only another bailout for the auto industry.

The Cash for Clunkers program had the potential to be useful to nearly every American citizen. Had the government considered the lower-income segment of society, the project would most certainly have succeeded in stimulating the economy. If there had been a clause for the uninsured vehicle, the unregistered vehicle, the person who had lost his or her license to the outrageous Driver Responsibility Fees charged by some states, or simply a 'cash clause', designed for those people who have more urgent things to do with a few thousand dollars than put a down payment on a new vehicle. This money would have stimulated the economy more, and more fairly. Instead of only the government, auto industry and some of the more wealthy segments of society being the beneficiaries of this program, everyone could have benefited.

Originally, the CARS incentive was scheduled to last until November 1, 2009, or until funding was exhausted. Now that the Obama administration has spent all their money, the government is calling this program a success. Was it successful? To the auto industry, sure. To the American people? Not really. This program was only a success for those of us who had already achieved some degree of monetary prosperity.

Resources

Cars.gov