They couldn’t handle a &*^%ing $1 billion car trade-in program and you want them in charge of your health?!?!?!?
As reported at CBS News NYC:
Government Suspends ‘Clunkers’ Program
At Current Rate, Giving Out $3,500 Or $4,500 Per Vehicle Would Burn Through $1 Billion Allocated In No Time
Lou Young NEW YORK (CBS) ― “Cash for Clunkers” came to a screeching halt Thursday, after only six days on the road.
In a shocker [to you, maybe – ed.], the government announced it would suspend the program at midnight because demand was too great.
It may have been the best $1 billion the government has spent so far this year.
Business was humming at Crestmont Toyota/Volkswagen Thursday night as salespeople rushed back to work on news that the government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program was being suspended.
It’s the deal where you get up to $4,500 for your older low mileage beast if you buy a new car with more efficient fuel consumption.
On Thursday night we learned the program was only good until midnight, all because of a backlog of red tape. So the salespeople were trying to get their deals through the government’s Web site.
“People are loving it. It’s wonderful. It’s a great stimulus package,” salesman Andy Beloff said.
But when asked if the government was running the program well, Beloff said, “No. No.” […]
For the economy it’s good news, but the government’s miscalculation has some a little nervous.
“These are just the deals we have to submit tonight,” Crestmont president Bill Strauss said while holding a stack of papers. He said the dealership has over $100,000 on the table.
“If they can’t administer a program like this, I’d be a little concerned about my health insurance,” car salesman Rob Bojaryn said.
The “Clunkers” program was being administered by the National Highway Safety Administration, which has seemed overwhelmed from the get-go. Some in Congress are expected to push for expansion of the $1 billion budget on Friday.
If you have a ”Clunkers” deal in the works, don’t worry. The government said Thursday any transactions already made between dealers and consumers will be honored.
Oh yeah, I’m not worried anymore. Thanks, “government.” This does not incite much confidence in the government, nor should it. Along the lines of health-care’s enormous complexity in contrast to this lil’ $1 billion program, James Taranto at WSJ’s Best of the Web was all over it:
Would You Buy a Used Kidney From This Man?
They botched clunkfare. Hey, let’s let ’em run health care!
The government that can’t spend the $787 billion “stimulus” fast enough has the opposite problem as well: It’s spending money too quickly. “Four days after it launched, the popular cash-for-clunkers program has burned through its $950-million budget, sending the Obama administration scrambling to find additional money tonight and avoid a shutdown of the program,” reports the Detroit Free Press.
In a report filed late Thursday, the Freep reports both that “administration officials told Congress this evening that the plan would be suspended” and that “a White House official denied late today that the program was suspended.” The story today, as relayed by Bloomberg, seems to be that you can still get a subsidy if you trade in your old car for a new fueler-efficient one—but only if you act now:
The Obama administration is seeking ways to keep the $1 billion “cash for clunkers” program running after a burst of demand exhausted much of the money.
The program to encourage new car sales is still in operation, and the Obama administration will meet today with congressional leaders “to find and develop ways to continue to fund” the auto discounts, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today.
“If you were planning on going to buy a car this weekend, using this program, this program continues to run,” Gibbs said. “If you meet the requirements of the program, the certificates will be honored.”
Seems like a bit of a hard sell, no? But then, that’s the Obama administration’s method. Pass the “stimulus” now to avoid economic catastrophe! Curb global warming and remake health care or we’re all gonna die!
But wait. What if you need a kidney transplant or a hip replacement and the same geniuses who’re administering clunkfare have taken over the medical system? “Sorry, we’re out of money, come back next October.” It sounds facetious, but this is what actually happens in Canada and Europe. Cash-for-clunkers was a silly idea, but perhaps a beneficial unintended consequence will be to promote a healthy skepticism about the government’s competence. And while $1 billion seems like a lot of money, it’s a bargain next to the stimulus—to say nothing of the monstrosities that haven’t (yet) made it through Congress.
And speaking of government-run health care, it’s soooo awesome that Democrats are on the verge of exempting themselves from it. Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) asked Democrats to put their money where their mouth (and heart, and liver, and kidneys, etc.) is by proposing H.R. 615. Mary Starrett at News With Views [h/t Revolution Radio] writes today:
Good Enough for You — Not Good Enough for Congress?
If the socialized healthcare plan President Obama has been pushing, and Congress seems close to passing, is good enough for all of America, why isn’t it good enough for members of Congress?
Why is it the “vastly improved,” “cost-effective” healthcare “reform” package the left has been trying to pry open our clenched teeth to deliver for years is something we should all buy into while our elected officials in D.C. get an opt out from the get-go?
It’s simple. Congress’ Cadillac plan provides them easy access to their choice of doctors, the full array of diagnostic tests, prescription coverage, and all the bells and whistles our system of medical care offers. In short, with the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) they get all the benefits that a fully comprehensive health insurance plan provides. In fact, the FEHB offers “Federal employees, retirees and their survivors ... the widest selection of health plans in the country. ”
Meanwhile, the liberals are salivating because they’re thinking they’re this close to passing the “Goodbye Grandpa” health plan they’ve been trying for years to force in an esophageal cramdown. Now they believe it will finally, finally happen.
But the lack of access, rationed, age-dependant bargain basement health insurance we’re being told is for our own good isn’t good enough for members of Congress.
That’s why Louisiana Congressman John Fleming is sponsoring a bill saying if the public health plan is so wonderful then members of Congress should sign up for the new plan they’re touting and forego their Cadillac plan.
H.R.615 says:
“... Members who vote in favor of the establishment of a public, federal government run health insurance option are urged to forgo their right to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and agree to enroll under that public option.
The Democrats’ current healthcare legislation provides for members of Congress to be exempt from the jalopy government-run health insurance plan we’d all be struggling to make work.
They must know something they think we don’t know about the reality versus the rhetoric surrounding the quality of care we’d all be forced, forced to utilize.
Maybe Congress has been reticent about opting out of their Cadillac plan because they know that, like any program or area the government gets involved in, (as this well-circulated diagram of how the plan would work shows, the quantity and quality of care could never equal what free market innovations can deliver.
Here’s a list of H.R. 615’s co-sponsors.
Are your Congressional representatives on the list? If not, call or email them and ask “Why isn’t the public health plan good enough for you, if you’re voting to make it good enough for me?”
Hmmmm, maybe ‘cuz they know, like us sentient Americans, exactly how such a program would run: Like a clunker.
Welcome to the future, suckers!
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