I see dead.....malls.
Linda was commenting how people say the economy is getting better because "a friend of ours is building a house."
I answered, I don't see it getting better in Bend because:
I see only 12 building permits last month.
I see local banks struggling to survive.
I see commercial loans starting to struggle.
I see an astronomical unemployment rate.
I see house prices still falling, and foreclosures increasing, and short sales unculminated.
I see credit card risk everywhere I look.
I see businesses still going out of business.
I see....
"You see dead people?" she interjected.
**********
I've become hopelessly cynical. This government rebate program for clunkers.
You don't think the car dealers are gaming this? Do you really believe you're getting that much better deal? How do you know they didn't just raise the interest point half a point, or raise the car price a few thousand dollars, or wouldn't have been inclined to sell you the car at about the same price even without the program?
End result? Money out of the government coffers.
I suppose, maybe better cars on the road. Though I suspect most of those clunkers weren't being driven all that much.
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2 comments:
I was thinking about CashForClunkers too. It seems like a Union giveaway to me to keep the car makers afloat. If the "union" cost of a car is $4500 (pensions, healthcare, wages etc) then the gov't is just pitching the $ over to the unions while making it appear that the public is getting something for nothing.
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money" - Alexis de Tocqueville
I'm taking advantage of Cash for Clunkers. I can get $1600 for my car on the open market. I can get $4500 through Cash for Clunkers by buying a car with at least 5 mpg better (combined).
There's so much dealer inventory that I had no problem playing one dealer off another to get a really good deal.
This is just a stimulous program for the auto manufacturers. I wasn't driving my old vehicle much anyway so it's not going to make much difference in terms of gas or environment in my case.
"Thank you", American taxpayers.
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