This is a well-written letter-to-the-editor that was in today's paper.
Comments on Cash for Clunkers ("Clunker program is wasteful," Aug. 4) were right on target. Why are we spending billions on destroying slightly used cars?
This program reminds me of the way Congress used the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act to destroy food during the Great Depression to stabilize commodity prices. That plan backfired and, six years later, millions were still suffering without food because of Congress' action.
The poor are hurt three times over with the Cash for Clunkers program:
1. The cars that are being destroyed are the cars that the poor would be able to afford in a couple of years.
2. Destroying mildly used cars will drive up prices, thereby pricing many underprivileged persons out of the market.
3. The $4,500 incentive will encourage many people to overextend their financial means to buy cars they cannot afford. When they cannot pay the loan payments, these people will have their cars repossessed, creating more financial instability for that segment of the population.
Besides directly affecting the poor, we must also recognize that Cash for Clunkers hurts non-profit organizations, as well, including such organizations as Courage Center, that accept used car donations as a way of generating income.
Terry Pearson, Inver Grove Heights
Comments on Cash for Clunkers ("Clunker program is wasteful," Aug. 4) were right on target. Why are we spending billions on destroying slightly used cars?
This program reminds me of the way Congress used the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act to destroy food during the Great Depression to stabilize commodity prices. That plan backfired and, six years later, millions were still suffering without food because of Congress' action.
The poor are hurt three times over with the Cash for Clunkers program:
1. The cars that are being destroyed are the cars that the poor would be able to afford in a couple of years.
2. Destroying mildly used cars will drive up prices, thereby pricing many underprivileged persons out of the market.
3. The $4,500 incentive will encourage many people to overextend their financial means to buy cars they cannot afford. When they cannot pay the loan payments, these people will have their cars repossessed, creating more financial instability for that segment of the population.
Besides directly affecting the poor, we must also recognize that Cash for Clunkers hurts non-profit organizations, as well, including such organizations as Courage Center, that accept used car donations as a way of generating income.
Terry Pearson, Inver Grove Heights
Posts
