Well if we didn't need any more proof that the Cash for Clunkers was a total failure, the National Bureau of Economic Research at Texas A&M, has produced a study that shows that the auto makers lost at least $2.5 billion in sales.

From the study:

Quote:Cash for Clunkers was a 2009 economic stimulus program aimed at increasing new vehicle spending by subsidizing the replacement of older vehicles. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show the increase in sales during the two month program was completely offset during the following seven to nine months, consistent with previous research. However, we also find the program's fuel efficiency restrictions induced households to purchase more fuel efficient but less expensive vehicles, thereby reducing industry revenues by three billion dollars over the entire nine to eleven month period. This highlights the conflict between the stimulus and environmental objectives of the policy.

From the WSJ:

Quote:The basic economic illogic of Cash for Clunkers is that you can't create wealth by destroying serviceable assets and then force-feeding consumer spending on replacements. But the saving grace was supposed to be that at least the auto makers benefited from a government-sponsored firesale on their products. Now that illusion has collapsed too. If Cash for Clunkers was "the best possible" stimulus, maybe that helps explain why the economy is still limping along six years later.

WSJ

"Well why didn't the Republicans propose a better plan?"

(08-06-2014 09:34 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "Well why didn't the Republicans propose a better plan?"

Don't do anything was a better plan.

The libs wanted American cars and SUV's off the road and folks driving the little Pe**s, oh, I mean Prius and Box type cars like They do. Now Obama had Chrysler being merged with Fiat so the Libs can drive that little Fiat car shaped like Obama's Head around.
Cash For Clunkers is the reason used cars are priced above market value as it destroyed hundreds of thousands of perfectly good American cars made by American workers. It created a shortage of used vehicles for lower wage workers to own as well. Most were traded in on Imports to begin with and hurt UAW jobs. Now it's come out that not only did many dealers not get paid, but one's that didn't contribute to Democrats were the dealers shutdown under the realignment of dealerships under Obama. Pontiac and Saturn were eliminated because Saturn was non union and more Pontiac were bought by blue collar Whites than Buick or Cadillac and Those were off limits to eliminating the brands as those are popular with minority buyers. Thanks Obama! You cost the American Taxpayers Billions. We won't forget Your Legacy anytime soon.

Almost forgot about tax people were charged with as income if car being traded in was worth less than what dealer gave in trade value. Same as He did with first time home buyers gimmick.

We really didn't need a survey to show this. If you are in the market for product X in the next few months and the government offers you significant money to buy now, you'll probably buy now instead of later. That's all that happened. You merely accelerate the purchase date of products and give a manufactured bump to sales....which will fall off significantly once the rebate is over.

Kind of an auto industry convoluted version of Gresham's Law.

I’m sure the next Cash-For-Clunkers will allow the purchase of a Prius with Bitcoin.

The bigger crunch was on poor folks who found the supply of sub 5k cars entirely gone.

(08-06-2014 09:43 AM)GrayBeard Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:34 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "Well why didn't the Republicans propose a better plan?"

Don't do anything was a better plan.

You pretty much summed up the entire Conservative platform.

You should market that into a bumper sticker.

"Vote Conservative
Our plan is to do nothing".

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  The bigger crunch was on poor folks who found the supply of sub 5k cars entirely gone.

Not only gone, but the price of total shitsters went from sub $1K to $2500.

(08-06-2014 11:39 AM)UofMstateU Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  The bigger crunch was on poor folks who found the supply of sub 5k cars entirely gone.

Not only gone, but the price of total shitsters went from sub $1K to $2500.

How much were people getting for their car under this program?

(08-06-2014 11:39 AM)UofMstateU Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  The bigger crunch was on poor folks who found the supply of sub 5k cars entirely gone.

Not only gone, but the price of total shitsters went from sub $1K to $2500.

Yep. There was a time when you had a choice of sub $1K car...those have all but gone.

(08-06-2014 11:49 AM)pharaoh0 Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 11:39 AM)UofMstateU Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  The bigger crunch was on poor folks who found the supply of sub 5k cars entirely gone.

Not only gone, but the price of total shitsters went from sub $1K to $2500.

Yep. There was a time when you had a choice of sub $1K car...those have all but gone.

I know of a golf course here that was able to get an entire fleet of golf carts under this program. So I'm pretty happy.

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:43 AM)GrayBeard Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:34 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "Well why didn't the Republicans propose a better plan?"

Don't do anything was a better plan.

You pretty much summed up the entire Conservative platform.

You should market that into a bumper sticker.

"Vote Conservative
Our plan is to do nothing".

Nothing is conservative.

"They are your problems, fix them yourself!"
"Man up"
"Bootstraps"

(08-06-2014 12:09 PM)firmbizzle Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:43 AM)GrayBeard Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:34 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "Well why didn't the Republicans propose a better plan?"

Don't do anything was a better plan.

You pretty much summed up the entire Conservative platform.

You should market that into a bumper sticker.

"Vote Conservative
Our plan is to do nothing".

Nothing is conservative.

"They are your problems, fix them yourself!"
"Man up"
"Bootstraps"

I fix my own problems just fine. As a matter of fact, I do it so well, I help others fix their problems too.

That is the difference between me and conservatives.

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:43 AM)GrayBeard Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:34 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "Well why didn't the Republicans propose a better plan?"

Don't do anything was a better plan.

You pretty much summed up the entire Conservative platform.

You should market that into a bumper sticker.

"Vote Conservative
Our plan is to do nothing".

So a plan that makes things worse is better? That's why you're the board's biggest fool.

(08-06-2014 12:13 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 12:09 PM)firmbizzle Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:43 AM)GrayBeard Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:34 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "Well why didn't the Republicans propose a better plan?"

Don't do anything was a better plan.

You pretty much summed up the entire Conservative platform.

You should market that into a bumper sticker.

"Vote Conservative
Our plan is to do nothing".

Nothing is conservative.

"They are your problems, fix them yourself!"
"Man up"
"Bootstraps"

I fix my own problems just fine.

Well, as long as affirmative action exists.

(08-06-2014 10:25 AM)pharaoh0 Wrote:  We really didn't need a survey to show this. If you are in the market for product X in the next few months and the government offers you significant money to buy now, you'll probably buy now instead of later. That's all that happened. You merely accelerate the purchase date of products and give a manufactured bump to sales....which will fall off significantly once the rebate is over.

I think there's more to it than that. I think that instead of buying a 40,000 Lone Star Edition truck, people were buying a $22,000 Nuevo Nova.

(08-06-2014 11:48 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  How much were people getting for their car under this program?

We took advantage of it (i.e. of all of you), and I think we got around $4500... I think that's at least a couple of thousand more than what we'd have gotten with a trade-in, though the junked car was perfectly good (albeit the gas mileage was horrible).

(08-06-2014 12:20 PM)I45owl Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 10:25 AM)pharaoh0 Wrote:  We really didn't need a survey to show this. If you are in the market for product X in the next few months and the government offers you significant money to buy now, you'll probably buy now instead of later. That's all that happened. You merely accelerate the purchase date of products and give a manufactured bump to sales....which will fall off significantly once the rebate is over.

I think there's more to it than that. I think that instead of buying a 40,000 Lone Star Edition truck, people were buying a $22,000 Nuevo Nova.

(08-06-2014 11:48 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  How much were people getting for their car under this program?

We took advantage of it (i.e. of all of you), and I think we got around $4500... I think that's at least a couple of thousand more than what we'd have gotten with a trade-in, though the junked car was perfectly good (albeit the gas mileage was horrible).

That's what I figured. So then the deal was a benefit to you?

(08-06-2014 12:18 PM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:43 AM)GrayBeard Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:34 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "Well why didn't the Republicans propose a better plan?"

Don't do anything was a better plan.

You pretty much summed up the entire Conservative platform.

You should market that into a bumper sticker.

"Vote Conservative
Our plan is to do nothing".

So a plan that makes things worse is better? That's why you're the board's biggest fool.

Only a fool would think the answers to a problem are to do nothing or make it worse.

(08-06-2014 12:13 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 12:09 PM)firmbizzle Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 11:35 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:43 AM)GrayBeard Wrote:  

(08-06-2014 09:34 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "Well why didn't the Republicans propose a better plan?"

Don't do anything was a better plan.

You pretty much summed up the entire Conservative platform.

You should market that into a bumper sticker.

"Vote Conservative
Our plan is to do nothing".

Nothing is conservative.

"They are your problems, fix them yourself!"
"Man up"
"Bootstraps"

I fix my own problems just fine. As a matter of fact, I do it so well, I help others fix their problems too.

That is the difference between me and conservatives.

So that makes you a conservative. You don't wait for the government to do it. Congratulations, you're finally getting the big picture.