Cash for Clunkers Video Sparks Outrage Over Wasteful Government Programs

Economists can argue back and forth in the media about the effect of big government programs such as the stimulus package and Obamacare but few things have illustrated government waste as effectively as this disturbing YouTube video in which a well running Volvo engine was destroyed as part of the Cash for Clunkers program. This video is currently going viral on the Web and has sparked outraged comments from many people whom I suspect have previously remained somewhat uninterested in the often elusive topic of economics. However, the wasteful destruction of this car seems to have awakened an economic sense of revulsion to an extent rarely seen before.

Here is a sampling of their YouTube comments which are in sharp contrast to the glowing praise of the Cash for Clunkers program prevalent in the MSM:

What a criminal waste of useful cars AND our tax dollars!!! (Actually, not even OUR tax dollars - it's all borrowed!!!)

The stupid Obummer Logic that spends BILLIONS on destroying usable cars will take cause the prices for decent used cars to skyrocket by removing hundreds of thousands from the market.

All to please some environmental nutcases who believe The Little People should drive around in tiny little clown cars!

What a f----in waste! I know lots of college kids, young professionals and even high school kids that need dependable cars. I cannot believe my tax dollars is funding this program! If the government is so concerned about fuel economy then how about putting more effort into educating driver on fuel saving driving habits like use cruise control, have all the maintenance in the manual completed on time, change the fluids such as oil on time, rotate the tires, etc. What a waste.

Only in the F----ing US of A can a government be as stupid as to allow people to waste perfectly good cars for a few dollars!!! I am utterly mad and disgusted!!! I am mad, fuming even!!! There are no words to describe the way I feel about this waste of taxpayers money and the huge net environmental waste that results from this nonsense. It's f----ing criminal!!!

I seriously cannot believe anyone would be stupid enough to destroy a beautifully built, extremely safe, long-lived late-model car like an S80.

Destroying cars some poor person could be using to get to work. The instigators of this whole program should be up on a human rights abuse charge, not to mention polluting the environment when destroying the cars

Hell this car should've been donated or sold or given to a church or help a needy family! You people are sick and just as greedy as those who started the recession!!

That was just STUPID!! Why not dismantle the car - sell it's parts - and GIVE the money to food banks and battered women shelters or whatever. And I'm sure there HAS TO BE some environmental concerns with all that smoke - does there not? What morons came up with this ideas?

What a waste of a good volvo. I would like to know what vehicle the owner replaced it with. 

Probably no vehicle as yet since the Cash for Clunkers program ran out of money and the government computers handling these transactions have seized up worse than that Volvo engine. Back to the comments, many of which are from foreigners who can't believe how stupid Americans have become in the Age of Obama:

Damn it, I would've been ECSTATIC to own that car! Got a 93 Crown Vic right now with one of those damned AODE transmissions. I'd love to work out a deal with a dealership so I could trade my TRUE clunker in for one of these perfectly good cars, 80% of which are being sold to China of all places for the steel.

 

Barack Obama is going to destroy this nation. This Volvo is 4 years newer than my car, and I use it every single day with no problems!

What will this do to the used car market? How will students to buy a cheap cap? Insanity!

Watch the Bernanke video where he can't answer a single question about where half a TRILLION dollars went. Obama and his minions have no clue what they are doing. They will to wreck this economy and ruin our standard of living for generations if not once and for all.

 

Obama is insane. America is doomed. If you love cars, this is like watching a baby being strangled to death. Just horrible. We have more oil in Alaska, in the shal and off the coasts than the Saudis do. Yet we are dooming our economy for this cult of "green". How will students afford a cheap car for school? Yet anoher insane disruption of the markets by Obama & Co., who belong teaching Marxist theory in school and not actually running a REAL economy. I can't believe Americans elected this idiots.

Stupid americans deserve to be bankrupt. 

Killing a good machine like that for a small amount of money.What a waste of resorces with an incredible ecological footprint.

I couldn't even finish watching that. This dealer is obviously bad at math. Why wouldn't they just give the customer the credit out of pocket and keep the car to re-sell? That Volvo is worth at least 9-12 thousand dollars. Destroying a perfectly good engine and probably the transmission too? So wasteful.

Stupid Americans. Why destroy a fine car? Why the hell do I save energy and seperate green waste if these people act so incredibly irresponsible. Bweh! This Volvo is a hero.

Polution, gas wasted, recycled parts destroyed and then what if these idiot dealers don't get the government money. EPA will love the oil spills too.

Ruining a perfect fuel-effecient car for no good reason. Unresponsible, stupid. Another great example of terribly policy-making. People laughing about this are obviously mentally undeveloped as well, as you don't see what the consequences of this kind of behavior on mass scale are. Idiots.

Holy crap, I know some of the Americans laws are a litle bit crazy, but this is absolutely stupid, 2 say the least... what a complete waste...

disgusting waste of perfectly good cars and a complete abuse of political power. Just look at the perfectly good cars lined up to be destroyed - why not auction them for charity, or if you're really trying to help people - give them to people who can't afford cars. Thanks Obama, you're flushing what's left of our country completely down the sh!tter. 

I have a good idea. Let's let the same people that created this program - which went bankrupt in a week and literally destroys wealth (as you see above) - run our health care system. Whadayathink?

There are many more such comments on this video at YouTube and growing since this viral video has struck a chord in a way that abstract economic arguments have not. Ironically, the dealer who destroyed that Volvo probably has received no cash yet since the Cash for Clunkers program has run out of money and the government computers for handling these transactions are all down. 

And the MSM is calling this program a popular success?