VIDEO: Senator Jim DeMint slams “Cash for Clunkers”

Love how he ties the bad management of “Cash for Clunkers” in with the very idea that we should trust government to get into the healthcare coverage business:

Partial transcript:

“The role of the federal government is not to run the used car business,” South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint said on Fox New Sunday. “I just think this is a great example of the stupidity coming out of Washington right now.”

DeMint has quickly become the Tom Coburn of South Carolina. I hope my friends down in the other Carolina keep this man in the US Senate for as long as he desires to be. He’s plain spoken and doesn’t put on any airs, and continually works not for big government but for the little guy. He’s one of the few people in Washington, DC who hasn’t forgotten who put him where he is.

Related to “Cash for Clunkers”, check out this video of a what appears to be perfectly good Volvo being destroyed as part of the CforC program:

PJ Gladnick notes that a lot of the comments posted at YouTube about the video are from people outraged over the wasteful destroying of this car. The Examiner’s Bill Dupray is similarly outraged:

The Cash for Clunkers program is stupid for a lot of reasons. Not only is it just another tax-payer bailout of the ~~unions~~ automakers, who can sell more cars at artificially depressed prices so they can keep the doors open. It also screws with the free-market (big surprise there) by pulling forward demand that isn’t there now, only to kill demand over the next 1-2 years. Killing off the clunkers also hurts the used car market, the spare parts market, and the auto repair business. If there aren’t any old cars to buy or fix, those guys are all out of a job.

But one of the most asinine parts of the plan is that they take old cars, many of which were being used as functional day-to-day transportation the day before, and destroy them. A perfectly good and useful machine destroyed for political reasons.

In a normal world, you take your trade-in to the dealer, he buys it from you, and then he resells it at the auto auction. It is the most efficient allocation of resources for the product. In this case, the government buys your trade-in and, instead of using it for its full value, it destroys the vehicle.

Exactly, but the purpose of CforC is to get those cars off the road – period – in the name of helping to “save the environment”, but there are a lot of people out there, especially right now, who could better afford a “previously owned automobile” like the ones that are being “given back” under the CforC program than the more allegedly “environmentally sound” hybrid vehicles. Heck, even if I wanted to buy one – and I don’t, because I don’t think most of them are especially safe for both passengers, pedestrians, and first responders at the scene of an accident – I couldn’t afford to. The Ford Fusion Hybrid is close to $30K, and the more “economical” hybrids like the Honda Insight have gotten decidedly mixed to bad reviews in terms of comfort, handling, speed, safety, and the upkeep expense.

Related reading: Interesting facts about hybrid drivers.

10 Responses to "VIDEO: Senator Jim DeMint slams “Cash for Clunkers”"

Anthony (Los Angeles) says:

August 2, 2009 at 8:51 pm

Speaking as a guy who could really use a good used car right about now, this is maddening beyond words.
david foster says:

August 2, 2009 at 9:35 pm

There is of course considerable energy embedded in the manufacture of a car–steelmaking, steel transportation, stamping, etc are all energy-intensive processes. When the car is scrapped, a significant portion of that energy is thrown away. Think anyone in government actually did the calcuation of energy-saved via more efficient cars vs energy-wasted via destruction of working vehicles? I doubt it.

Also, there are a significant number of older vehicles which are rarely driven but just used as backup or kept for sentimental reasons. For cars of this type, the energy tradeoff looks even worse than for the average case.
Great White Rat says:

August 2, 2009 at 9:45 pm

ST says:

the more “economical” hybrids like the Honda Insight have gotten decidedly mixed to bad reviews

That’s for sure. My favorite Insight review is from Jeremy Clarkson of the UK Times Online. Some choice samples:

It’s terrible. Biblically terrible. Possibly the worst new car money can buy. It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more….The Honda’s petrol engine is a much-shaved, built-for-economy, low-friction 1.3 that, at full chat, makes a noise worse than someone else’s crying baby on an airliner. It’s worse than the sound of your parachute failing to open. Really, to get an idea of how awful it is, you’d have to sit a dog on a ham slicer.

Clarkson doesn’t have a high opinion of the earth-firsters either:

The nickel for the battery has to come from somewhere. Canada, usually. It has to be shipped to Japan, not on a sailing boat, I presume. And then it must be converted, not in a tree house, into a battery, and then that battery must be transported, not on an ox cart, to the Insight production plant in Suzuka. And then the finished car has to be shipped, not by Thor Heyerdahl, to Britain, where it can be transported, not by wind, to the home of a man with a beard who thinks he’s doing the world a favour.

His final rating: 1 star our t of 5: “Good only for parting the smug from their money.”
Donna J says:

August 2, 2009 at 11:20 pm

Ah, I see Great White Rat beat me to pointing out how ridiculously UNGREEN the entire battery system is in those hybrids. But hey, it makes people feel good about themselves because they’re helping SAVE THE EARTH, so it’s all good!!

I can’t even watch the Volvo clip, I’ve got to go to bed soon and I know it’s content would keep me up several hours stewing.

Oh and lucky SC, with their DeMint. It’s a shame our old north state doesn’t vote in good fiscal conservatives like him, but instead opts for RINOs (albeit, less RINO-ey lately) like Burr.
Carlos says:

August 2, 2009 at 11:26 pm

The “hybrids” are such energy-consumers in manufacture that it takes about 5 years for them to get to a break-even point with “traditional” autos.

Except that, sometime around that 5 years the battery assembly must be replaced, and that’s by far the most energy inefficient part of the manufacturing process, the most dangerous for the environment the Gaiea groupies are so concerned about and requires the elimination of the old battery assembly, so add a couple more years on to the original 5 year make-up time. By that time the cheesy little rolling piece of manure can’t run any more, so you have to buy another on.

Obamanomics at its best!
The Meck Deck » Blog Archive » Monday Morning Grab Bag O Fun says:

August 3, 2009 at 7:17 am

[…] DeMint makes the connection between Cash for Clunkers and government run health care. Or make that, Waiting List for By-Pass […]
Wayne says:

August 3, 2009 at 12:06 pm

To help understand why destroying useful property does not stimulate the economy as a whole read this article about the broken window fallacy.
Jo says:

August 3, 2009 at 7:04 pm

I’m proud to say he is my Senator–Lindsey Graham, not so much.
karenc says:

August 4, 2009 at 9:22 am

In addition to all the negatives contained in your article, Cash for Clunkers is also bad for charity car donation. Charities rely on the revenue from car donations to fund their programs.
vigilocanis says:

August 4, 2009 at 11:38 am

“Cash-For-Clunkers” or “Neighbor-Sells-Junker or “My Taxes In Dumper”?

We, the U.S. taxpayers, just spent a billion dollars to buy junk cars courtesy of the “Cash for Clunkers” plan that helps new car buyers afford new vehicles by paying up to $4,500 for their junker trade ins .

In effect, the government plan takes money($450) from your pocket and the pockets of each of your nine friends and gives it($4,500) to your neighbor across the street so that your neighbor can trade in his old car, that has a market value of $500, but because of yours and your neighbors’ contributions to the Clunker program, the clunker has a value to its owner of $4,500, that your neighbor can use to help pay for the new car.

This new car was built by the government owned General Motors with the help of the union workers with the government guaranteed pension plans, financed by the government bailed out banks, driven over the turtle tunnel built by government eco-dollars, fueled by govenment subsidized ethanol, and parked in a garage in a house with a government mandated sub prime mortgage.

And now they want to spend 2 billion more dollars on this “successful” stimulus effort.

……… and Obama said the Cambridge police acted “stupidly’ and that he would provide us with a teachable moment.

AND JUST WHO IS IT THAT ALLOWS THIS RECKLESS TYRANNICAL GOVERNMENT TO ROB US AND OUR CHILDREN ?

IT IS YOU AND I. WHILE WE COMPLACENTLY SIT ON OUR HANDS AND KEEP OUR EYES CLOSED, OUR ASSETS AND THOSE OF OUR CHILDREN ARE OPENLY SEIZED BY THE PERNICIOUS GOVERNMENT LEECH, WHOSE APPETITE TO FUND THESE SOCIALIST PROGRAMS, CANNOT BE SATISFIED.

Our objection is barely audible as we forget to vote, don’t actively campaign for worthy candidate, and are silent as the Democratic mercinary Acorn tergiversators do their deeds.

If we do not rise up to stop these malevolent government takeover, then we are but complicit enablers.

This government program is another ignoble, statist act of a socialist leaning government that doesn’t give a whit that there is no money in the treasury to fund this ridiculous act of favoritism to car dealers.

If special interests were smart, environmentalists should demand money for old bikes, for old Volvos, for old windmills, and rednecks could demand money for old coon dogs, or for old satellite dishes.

Don’t we get it? WE’RE BROKKKKKKKKKKKE!

All this money spent for junk cars and turtle tunnels, and yes I’ll will say it, money for wars with countries that have not attacked us, is borrowed money.

According to the US Treasury , on 09/30/2008 we owed $10,024,724,896,912.49. This does not count the empty Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid trust funds that were robbed and the money spent, while millions or retirees are depending on its support.

As Ross Perot so eloquently explained, ” Larry, we’re bankrupt and just don’t know it.”

Al Gore said one true thing……that we need a lock box to protect the trust funds.

Cash for Clunkers, money for GM, turtle tunnels in Tallahassee, Obama care, and Cap and Trade will double the total debt on 7 yr.s to over 20 trillion dollars………..while we squabble over the insignificant details.

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