Cash for clunkers

When the first billion dollars was used up in this incredibly successful government program a couple of weeks ago, I blogged about this may have been the only program I had ever witnessed that worked on so many levels.

For the life of me, I do not know why the government was so quick to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to save shitty banks, and only 3 billion to encourage people to trade in crappy cars for efficient and better cars. It makes no sense. Talk about reversed priorities.

Imagine if all government economic programs had a real effect on real people. As it stands, over 500 billion dollars has been flushed down the black hole that is the American banking system, and not a note of new regulation has been passed. Instead, you get the insane republicans bitching about 3 billion that has helped car dealers, car makers, average people and the environment.

I am sure some slick talking alcoholic republican can spin this as some ineffective giveaway to the poor or underserving. These same empty suits would never bother to speak out about the reckless waste of taxpayers money spent on AIG or Bank of America. It is insane to think of how much money was quickly tossed at the stupid leaders of these corporations with no expectations and no conditions. But 3 billion to get junkers and polluters off the road for good? Possibly the most successful hands on government program I have ever witnessed.

The problem with elected officials of all stripes is that they soon bend over for big business and forget who actually casts the votes that put them in their leather seats. This is not a rant against elections or the people who win them, it is a complaint about how quickly politicians cave to big business and how little respect they have for real people.

In a smarter world, 500 billion would be spent to buy up all old clunkers, get thos polluting monsters off the road and give people the money to get them into smart, better, more economical transportation. Sure, that would be some form of socialism, but then, what is 500 billion to bankers, stock traders and money changers? The bottom line, which no one seems to ever really look at anymore, is what did we get for propping up the badly run banking system? I can not come up with any answer. But the 3 billion for clunkers, that one is easy.