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 Discerning Texan
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
-- Edmund Burke
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Did Obama Just Announce the END of Used Cars
Hidden in Barack Obama's usual hair-splitting rhetoric the other day were some pretty ominous signs, especially if you grew up loving cars:
I have also heard that Obama plans to ban the importation of small cars from other countries at some point. This is blatant protectionism, and would only invite retaliation in kind. It has often been argued that the two worst things that Herbert Hoover did to prolong and deepen the Great Depression were: the enactment of the Smoot-Hawley Tarrif Act during a recession--effectively turning the recession into a depression and creating a wordwide phenomenon that arguably raised worldwide tensions to the point of World War, especially when coupled with; 2) Roosevelt's unprecedented spending, taxing, and socialist programs (e.g. farm subsidies)--some of which were found unconstitutional, but most of which extended the actual depression until the late 1940's.
But FDR seems to be child's play compared to what Barack Obama has undertaken during our deep, deep recession.
But FDR seems to be child's play compared to what Barack Obama has undertaken during our deep, deep recession.
