Cash for Clunkers seems to be a very popular program. But have you really thought about what's actually happening? I always like thinking about things down on a level that I can understand. I came across this article that explains the program better than anything I've seen yet. It brings it down to the neighborhood level.
Suppose we came to your house one day and said, "Look over there at Ted - the guy with the Toyota Tundra in the driveway." You look - yup, that's Ted alright, the guy who always seems to roll his eyes every time you drive by in your Prius with the Obama bumper sticker. No matter how gently but firmly you and your Greenpeace neighbors admonish Ted, he simply won't give up that Tundra for a subcompact. You don't particularly like Ted.
"Well, me and few of your other neighbors are tired of looking at Ted's Toyota Tundra and thinking about all of the environmental damage that he is doing with that truck. So here's our plan. We're going to take up a collection. Once we get $4,500 or so together, we're going to offer it to Ted on the condition that he use it to buy something a little less gas-guzzly. And since it is Ted we're talking about, we know he won't go for this deal unless we let him buy something short of an econo-box. Of course, he has to sell the Tundra as part of the deal, but we'll see to it that the Tundra is scrapped so nobody else can inflict that truck upon this neighborhood again. So . . . can we sign you up for a contribution?"
Read the full story to really get clear about what this program is all about.
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