Unfortunately for Barack Obama and the Democrats, it has left a pretty bad taste in people's mouths. This coincides with a debate over government running our healthcare system. Maybe the administration should have thought about the implications of this program not being a boondoggle, considering its push to run healthcare. Here are just a few of the problems with the cash for clunkers:
--Congress--relying on auto industry forecasts that the program wouldn't have a major effect on moribund sales--deeply underestimated how many people would be lured to dealerships by rebates of up to $4,500. Initially, lawmakers committed just $1 billion, an amount that was burned through in just a few weeks.
--Transportation Department officials, presented with just 30 days to get the program up and running, didn't set aside enough staff or resources and were overwhelmed by the heavy response from consumers. Systems set up to handle and reimburse dealer claims were swamped.
--Government rules to prevent fraud created paperwork requirements that many dealers didn't fully understand.
--Hungry for sales, dealers made Cash for Clunkers deals weeks in advance even though they were advised against it. This created a big backlog the moment the program officially began. And many are still filing bad paperwork that is holding up their claims, despite repeated government attempts to clear up the confusion.
Long story short? The government was ill-prepared and it has little incentive to achieve anything in a timely manner. Take New Mexico, for example. The federal government owes dealers around the state more than $3.6 million. Guess how much it has actually paid? The federal government has only sent three checks totally $14,000. Who knows when or if those dealers will get the money.
Yeah ... and you trust these people to manage your health care