My Clunker

I need a different vehicle; I drive an old clunker.

You see, I felt I couldn't responsibly take advantage of the government clunker program. The reason I drive an old car and have never had a brand, spankin' new one is simply I cannot afford the payments on a new car. I have other priorities, like a house and an appetite.

The clunker program didn't make sense to me. OffDah! Seems to me you have three kinds of car owners - those who can afford car payments so have fairly new cars, those who cannot afford car payments so drive older cars, and those who cannot afford car payments but buy a new car anyway. The last group are irresponsible, in over their heads, can't make their house payment or buy health insurance or groceries - and expect someone else to pick up the tab.

So the clunker program was good for a couple of things - it helped people who could afford a new car anyway (if they could afford a new car, they didn't need a subsidy) and it helped people who will not be able to meet the payments.

And it was bad for a couple of reasons, it took away older cars some responsible people need because they can't afford payments on a new car, and it raised the prices of the remaining older cars.

Now the responsible people cannot afford a different used car, not only because the prices are too high but because they have to pay more taxes to subsidize the irresponsible who cannot meet house payments, buy their own health insurance, or buy groceries without the help of food stamps because they're making new-car payments.

Should government be promoting irresponsibility and pushing the cost onto the responsible?

Should government be punishing the responsible?

OofDah!