The Conservative Cave
Current Events => General Discussion => Topic started by: bijou on August 22, 2009, 06:08:06 PM
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The U.S. Transportation Department, billions of dollars behind in paying "cash-for-clunkers" rebates, has hired private contractors and solicited volunteers from the Federal Aviation Administration and its own executive ranks to work overtime to clear the backlog.
Employees of the FAA's air-traffic-control unit were asked to help, but the Transportation Department stressed Friday that essential safety personnel were not diverted from their duties.
A total of 1,200 workers, including about 300 contractors from Citigroup, the financial services giant, are now working seven days a week to review applications and reimburse auto dealers for rebates advanced to customers, officials said.
The department tripled its program staff to 1,100 last week, and recently added another 100 headquarters employees.
On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the program would stop taking applications Monday at 8 p.m. to provide an "orderly wind-down" and ease uncertainty about when funds would run out. ...
link (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/22/us-adds-clerks-to-clear-clunkers/?source=newsletter_must-read-stories-today_photo_feature)
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Just in case anyone's paying attention, this is your federal government at work.
Let's put a program out there to spend the taxpayer's money and forget all about administering the damned thing.
Idiocy and lunacy at its finest. :banghead:
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Just in case anyone's paying attention, this is your federal government at work.
Let's put a program out there to spend the taxpayer's money and forget all about administering the damned thing.
Idiocy and lunacy at its finest. :banghead:
Just wait until they have to draft in a mailman to take your appendix out.
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Just wait until they have to draft in a mailman to take your appendix out.
:thatsright:
You're just a pillar of encouragement, aintcha?
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Just in case anyone's paying attention, this is your federal government at work.
Let's put a program out there to spend the taxpayer's money and forget all about administering the damned thing.
Idiocy and lunacy at its finest. :banghead:
I never did find out how many forms were involved in the process... if it was more than one, it was too much. Again, I don't see why they couldn't have just given a tax credit to the buyer instead of going through the process of making the dealer do all the work and then leaving them hanging when it's time to start writing the checks.
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I never did find out how many forms were involved in the process... if it was more than one, it was too much. Again, I don't see why they couldn't have just given a tax credit to the buyer instead of going through the process of making the dealer do all the work and then leaving them hanging when it's time to start writing the checks.
Part of the process involves destroying the cars that were traded in. I'm sure several pages are devoted to that.
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Here is a good set of bullet points from the Cato Institute. Not sure if the link will work.
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/08/21/cash-for-clunkers-dumbest-program-ever/
Cash for Clunkers: Dumbest Program Ever?
As the Cash for Clunkers program begins to wind down, I nominate it as the dumbest government program ever. Here is what the program will have accomplished:
A few billion dollars worth of wealth was destroyed. About 750,000 cars, many of which could have provided consumer value for many years, were thrown in the trash. Suppose each clunker was worth $3,000 at a guess, that would mean that the government destroyed $2.25 billion of value.
Low-income families, who tend to buy used cars, were harmed because the clunkers program will push up used car prices.
Taxpayers were ripped off $3 billion. The government took my money to give to people who will buy new cars that are much nicer than mine!
The federal bureaucracy has added 1,100 people to handle all the clunker administration. Again, taxpayers are the losers.
The environment was not helped. See here and here.
The auto industry received a short-term “sugar high†at the expense of lower future sales when the program is over.The program apparently boosted sales by about 750,000 cars this year, but that probably means that sales over the next few years will be about 750,000 lower. The program probably further damaged the longer-term prospects of auto dealers and automakers by diverting their attention frommarket fundamentals in the scramble for federal cash.
Farm subsidies are unjust. Trade restrictions are counter-productive. Energy regulations have donegreat damage. Housing policies helped cause the financial crisis. But for pure dumbness, Cash for Clunkers takes the cake.
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I wonder if the IRS will assess late fees. penalties and interest on the dealers that can't pay their quarterly taxes because the government hasn't reimbursed them yet. :thatsright:
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I wonder if the IRS will assess late fees. penalties and interest on the dealers that can't pay their quarterly taxes because the government hasn't reimbursed them yet. :thatsright:
I had heard there was also a small detail about liens on cars they destroyed.... OOPS.... :evillaugh:
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...I don't see why they couldn't have just given a tax credit to the buyer instead of going through the process of making the dealer do all the work and then leaving them hanging when it's time to start writing the checks.
It wasn't about the money, or the cars per se. This was an exercise in teaching your comrades and mine at these auto dealerships just WHO are the commissars, and who are the proles.
Don't worry. Your lesson is coming.
:popcorn:
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from the Federal Aviation Administration
Huh????????? Like Air Traffic Controllers are suddenly accountants? Ya's got to be kiddin' me, right? Our gubmint at work! And they want to control healthcare? Oh man, are we gonna be hurtin' for certain!
I'm puttin' on my red slippers! There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like.........oh shit!!!!!!!! We're royally ****ed!
Hope and change......Hope and change..........uh oh!