In his speech about the GM bankruptcy yesterday, President Barack Obama (from the New York Times) said:
And that’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass fleet modernization legislation that can provide a credit to consumers who turn in old cars and purchase cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars. (emphasis added)
Turn in old cars. It’s long been a talking point of liberals and environmentalists that cars older than a given age should be removed from the highways. The usual mantra goes “The government should buy all cars older than X and pay the owner $750. Then the owner could go out and buy a newer, cleaner, more efficient car.” The advocates for this position either fail or refuse to understand that the owners will not be able to find a car to buy with their $750. Basic economics.
President Obama used the words “turn in” not “trade in.” He will give folks a credit – I suppose that means an income tax credit – for doing this. This sounds like the used cars will go to the government and be removed from the market. No more used cars. You either buy an expensive putt-putt new car
, or you go without. It appears that he’s set out to destroy the used car market.
Update – Welcome Instapundit and Charming, Just Charming readers. And a hat tip to Chicago Boyz for the link to a post showing the Brits have already adopted such a scheme.
The “cash for clunkers” bill is a fraud. The “tax credit” is a credit to DEALERS. That’s right. It’s not like you buy a high MPG car and come tax time you have a $4000 tax credit on your tax return. Nope.
The way it works is the dealer gets the $4000 and then “gives you” the $4000. Except that the dealer will then just add $4000 to the price of the car he’s selling you. Or maybe not the full $4000 but $2000 or $3000. One way or another the dealer will keep some of that $4000 for himself, probably without you even realizing it.
Yet another fraud brought to you by the Fraud President.
Haha, they don’t care if you can’t pull a boat – in fact, even better if you can’t, cause you’re a rich jerk for having one in the first place, and besides, it uses gas and pollutes, so there.
And you guys talk like you think you’ll have a choice? Hey, when it comes to it, you’ll f-ing do it cause you’re told to, cause you’re non-econodeathtrap will be illegal, get it?
Is this crap starting to sink in with everyone yet?
They can pry my car keys, my crypto keys and my gun from my cold dead fingers!
Has anyone considered the opportunities for boycotting all General Motors and Chrysler products? And not just the new cars let the old clunkers sit on the used car dealer’s lots as well; the used parts business is a very lucrative revenue stream for the car industry. Don’t buy any socialist American cars. For our freedom and that of our children and children’s children, don’t support the looter socialist state! THE ONE, his Car Czar and their henchmen don’t buy American manufactured car; the American people are the ones who buy these cars. Well we are not going to buy them any longer. General Motors and Chrysler are going to fail with or without our intervention but we can accelerate the process and shorten the time to when free markets are restored to America.
Michael Ronayne
Nutley, NJ
I’ll turn in my old Ford Ranger if Obama buys me a replacement vehicle.
FO BHO
They can pry my 94 Jeep from my cold dead fingers. They can try and pry my cold dead fingers from my 39 Chevrolet. They can try and pry my cold dead fingers from my ’57 Ford F100. They can try and pry my cold dead fingers from my 1931 Model A. They can try and pry my cold dead fingers from my ’64 Alfa 2600 Sprint. They can try and pry my cold dead fingers from my ’67 Alfa 2600 Sprint. They can try and pry my cold dead fingers from my ’67 BSA Gold Star if they want to…
but they should probably bring a car hauler.
After you turn in your old car you can ride the non existent mass transit train in your area. Think what that will do for suburban and exurban property values.
Not only will it put used car dealers out of business, it will end charity car donation. Charities are already strained due to the economy and the change Congress made to the tax deuction for car donation in 2005.
i think the suggestion of boycotting Government Motors is a good idea. i currently drive a GM vehicle and i will not be buying another one once this falls apart.
furthermore, this garbage is going to do nothing but hurt the poor – those who can’t afford to buy new cars. just like with everything libs do, it is the poor and middle class that end up paying for it in the end. people need to wake up.
Lord Soetoro is making Jimmah Cahtah look like a rocket scientist. He even makes Bush look like a genius.
He says Congress should pass a law that would give a credit to people turning in old cars. Where in his speech do you see the word “require” or any synonym? How can you logically equate this with the “end of used cars”?
u repukes make me sick, u wanna destroy teh planet and ur mad that president obama found u out an stops u by taking away ur filthy toys
Did you know that those on this shyster ‘auto taskforce’ have NO background in autos/ none. Steve RaT-tner, owns a Benz – Lexus – Audi/ In fact they all (minus 2) own foreign cars. A few own none (lease) a few have no license (drivers). Take a gander at the FIAT (Rat-Mobiles). These rat-cars are about the size of my oak kitchen table.
NO more vacations/ camping etc. No need for seat belts or air bags. WHY? Hell, with one of those Mexican ( not inspected) semis hitting you/ the whole mess can be buried (no need for a coffin). Rattner (ultra wealthy) former investment banker (auto czar) and his “NOT QUITE” college graduate, Brian Desse (31) wouldn’t know a fan belt, from a carburetor! These ‘rat-cars’ will get you to the local Wigget Factory and home (maybe). The elite could care less/ they’ll KEEP their high end gas guzzlers (we pay politician’s leasing fees – gas)!
Rattner’s wife, Maureen White was picked up for ‘drunk driving’ – NYT – New York Post (didn’t cover). Only the Proles go to court!! Thus far there are 21 Czars! WHY? They are unelected – not vetted – and answerable only to President! I guess this is change/ but not exactly ‘change you can believe in’!
As for ‘shared sacrifice’ – it doesn’t appear that the banksters/ et al are tightening their belts (dates – shopping in Paris – Air Force One used 90,000 gal of gas on Earth Day for needless town hall chit chat. I thought the campaign was over?
Everyone needs someone to blame. Even the president Does. And did anyone ever figure 10 years ago where to country was headed. Of course It was always planned. Stop looking for someone to blame and find GOD and this will teach you how to really live. Life is worth living and enjoying. Everthing else is a little thing called luxury. Youdumbfuks!
I think that obama is doing what all of us should be doing and that is being concerned about the planet. If you think of the benefits instead of your inconvenience, you and everybody else would live a better life, have cleaner air, cleaner water,etc., etc.,etc.. All he is trying to do is have an open mind like everybody should. Personally I think he is doing a great job. Solar storms due to gas guslers or Nice Clean AIR and a full of Life planet. (OUR CHOICE) Keep up the good work Obama
-@ tree hugging hippy,
—I know your comment was probably made with intent to to cause trouble, but it brings the question that people could ask: How could people have a better life if they’re low income, can barely afford living and gas for commuting, and the King wants to take away their mule, giving them a penny to buy a $100 horse. Now, if that person can only save $1 a day because they have two kids, a dog and a wife to feed, how the hell are they going to afford a $9k car? Save up the money they make from the job they lost because they could not drive to work in their economical “clunker”?
-My Thoughts (synical as it may be),
—I say he is trying one of two things, hopefully I am wrong on the second one, but with his religious background, one can’t help but wonder if he was a seed planted in the US by a terrorist network. That was my ONLY* fear when I considered he might be elected.
—Either he is pushing buttons to tick everyone off, in hoes that the American people will get off their keisters and say, “That’s enough with the government ruling, WE THE PEOPLE RULE” or, he is first spending money we don’t have trying to put us in the dirt, and then making the US citizens spend their money so that we’ll all be poor and weak and can be overthrown easily. If there’s no money in the till and no money in our pockets, the next plane to hit a skyscraper will burn, burn, burn and no one will have funds to even drive to the fire to save the people…
… and why didn’t our military get to vote? Where is his original copy of his birth certificate? I was born in 1969 and mine wasn’t laser-copied or ink-jetted, nor were the peoples’ who were born in 1989. It is time to start pushing the investigating his legitimacy as a president and citizen.
-Economy & Emissions
—Some older vehicles are more efficient and run cleaner than the ones built a month ago and they were built to run on better gas than we have now. Would outlawing older vehicles be discrimination based on age, if that older vehicle could be fine tuned to yield 30mpg on the highway?
—The national scrappage bill was opposed by many states in 2003 (IIRC). Collectors of antique cars stopped California’s bill in it’s tracks before they had a chance to pour the first glass of water at the assembly. This law http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2009/06/president-obama-signs-cash-for-clunkers-car-allowance-rebate-system.html should not have made it to the file cabinet. He is rushing bills before people can intervene. He needs to go now before he sends us into the sewer.
-EX POST FACTO!
—Furthermore, Next might be no pre-1991 vehicles; I owned my vehicles before any new law was passed and if I have to drive unregistered vehicles in protest I will, but I’ll be damned if someone is going to force a law on me telling me that I must save GM from ruins by buying their vehicles when they cannot produce a reliable vehicle which I would consider buying and other companies prices are high to compete with GM’s over-priced garbage. How much will he give if you crush a post-1991 vehicle that can’t deliver 25mpg highway and/or emits sulfur that chokes you when driving in rush hour traffic?
—I will* continue to drive my old vehicles that are more reliable, produce less hydrocarbons and get better economy than 40% (generous) of the post-1991 vehicles he is talking about forcing us to buy. If I am stopped and told that I must surrender my vehicle, as it will be crushed, I will crush it myself using the cars that are preventing me from enjoying my classic that delivers 30mpg highway and emits COs less than .5%.
Future World: They sent this hatchet man Rattner (investment banker -big donor to Obama) to dismantle GM/ him and some dweeble named Weese (31) whose ONLY experience in life was working for Hillary’s campaign and an “almost graduate of Yale”(New Yokr Times. It used to be called dropout. Rattner living in a 12 story mansion (NYC) has amongst his fleet of cars (none American) an Audi/Mercedes Benz.
Obama before his armored fleet had a big a** SUV/Chrsyler 300. For us? It’ll be a sardine can car (FIAT what a joke!) run by a hamster wheel. Just enough to get you to the LOCAL Wigget Factory from your Work Force Housing (Google it, they’re putting this in place every state). NO more trips with the family. Good news: You won’t need those air bags or car seats. When one of those (thousands thanks to Clinton’s NAFTA) Mexican semis hits you, they can bury the whole mess/ they won’t find any piece of you big enough to bury. PS Obama used MORE gas on EARTH DAY than my entire family would use in a lifetime/HEY, maybe we could end Perpetual War / now there’s some real pollution for ya!! Where in the Constitution does it direct Gov to run the auto industry and mandate what cars we drive?
These FRAT boys haven’t a clue as to costs in the real world/ WE pay for the leasing of their BIG A** SUVs / and Obama’s FLEET of gas guzzlers that follows him (family) on dates, shopping in Paris, trips to see Lion King London. WOW –I bet (no money worries) they feel like they won Publisher’s Clearinghouse (same goes for Bush etc). Our founding fathers would puke. Google/ Not Yours to Give, Davy Crockett/ we used to have statesmen/ now we have HOGS.
Hey you idiots! You don’t have to do it!
I REALLY DONT C HOW THIS HELP HOPIN FOR BETTER WAS TOO ME FIRST MEANIN NO NOTE FOR UR CAR BECAUSE I DIDNT GIVE MY CAR WITH NOTES MIGHT ONLY B HELPFUL TO THE GOVERNOR NOT THE PEOPLE WHO HELP THE GOVERNOR MORE ISSUE