All the Numbers, Huge Numbers

Did you know that the taxpayers of this country have lost a big portion of the $81 billion in government aid provided to the auto industry? Just take a minute to digest the figure $81 BILLION. I cannot even imagine a figure that large. Most of the $23 billion initially provided to General Motors and Chrysler last year is UNLIKELY to be repaid. Now, just take a minute to digest that too. What would happen in your life if you could not repay what was loaned to you.

According to the report put out by the Congressional Oversight Panel, the prospect of recovering the government’s money is dependent on shares of the two companies rising to levels unheard of before. Think about that one, too. Obviously, our Congressional Oversight Panel already knew this when the Congress voted to give the administration all that ’supposed to be repaid’ aid  money.

Remember, when this was being crammed down the taxpayer’s throats that we were told this money would be repaid – just any day now. Sort of like ‘your check is in the mail already’.

Instead, now we hear that in order for this money to be repaid to the taxpayers, the shares of stock in GM and Chrysler will have to increase in value. Like that is going to happen any time soon.

I know I would not put my money in shares like that.  Not while the government still owns a big portion of those companies. Right now, the government – which is you, you know – owns 10 percent of Chrysler and 61 percent of GM. Think about those figures for awhile, too. Enough to just ruin your day!

And now, to quote ’shares will have to appreciate sharply’. Oh my, can you believe that one?

In order for us to be repaid, GM’s market value will have to reach $67.6 BILLION, which is more than the $57.2 BILLION GM was worth at its height. Fat chance of that!

And with Chrysler, about $5.4 billion of the $14.3 billion provided is highly unlikely to EVER be repaid.

I assume someone knew all this from the beginning. Could it have been our Congressmen again? Makes you wonder who’s running the store.

Must be someone who never learned to count!

Cash for Clunkers Revisited

Guess you’ve read and read and read about the program Cash for Clunkers. We need to take a good hard look at this one. Cash for Clunkers sounds like a great program – until you look closely. I’m sure you know they ran out of money after the first month. Of course. So now they have funded more money into the program. With NO help from most of the Republicans who did not think this was a good program and would not vote to add more money to the sick program.

Most of the people who have been driving clunkers have been driving clunkers not because they wanted to, but because they had to. That was all they could afford. Some of these clunkers sell for as little as $150. They are sold at the junk yards every day. Or they were. Before Cash for Clunkers.

Since the program began, the car dealers have been more than happy to fit almost anyone into a new automobile. And those who were driving the clunkers are more than happy to be fit into a new automobile. They never had it so good! Down the road a bit though,  they will be unable to make the payments on their hot new car which was probably sold to them for an amount close to $16,000 to $20,000. Now, if they could not afford to buy this car to begin with, what makes the government people in Washington think they can pay for one now. So a few months from now, you will be reading how many of the car dealers are having to repossess their new, now slightly worn, Cash for Clunkers cars.

And the junk yards won’t have any more clunkers to sell for the cheap price, because there won’t be any more junkers. And of course, junk yards make most of their money selling parts for cars and now they have no more parts to sell because the government that doesn’t know beans about the car business anyway, has decided that all clunkers must be crushed, engines and all, so that there are no parts left for the junk yards to sell. Oh, I tell you,those people in Washington are really, really smart.

Results of Cash for Clunkers will be more debt to most of the people who cannot afford more debt, loss of jobs in the junk yard and used car business, more layoffs because this program will affect not only those mentioned but many other businesses such as other auto parts businesses. The small business man does not stand a chance with this government we have now.

By all means, vote Republican when and if you ever get a chance again. Then programs will make sense again. Meanwhile, you are paying even more taxes because of programs like Cash for Clunkers.

Cash, Clunkers, and Timing

Cash for Clunkers! the latest rage with the government. As usual, I am a day late and a dollar short. I sure wish  I could have benefitted from Cash for Clunkers in years past.

I had some real clunkers. We went to a neighborhood gathering one evening and while there, my husband bought me a Jeep. He took it to the shop to have it checked and the block was cracked. Then we found out, it had no emergency brake, but that was alright, because I wouldn’t ever have an emergency anyway. The block was repaired and by now we had too much money in it and could not sell it, so I drove it for years. As long as I got a good running start at a hill, I could make it over the top. But I always had trouble starting the Jeep. I pushed, asked for pushes, and my children all grew up knowing how to push that Jeep. I always parked on a hill, had a good knowledge of putting it into 2nd and pushing on the gas so it would start as I rolled down the hill. The gear shift was on the steering wheel. One day, when I shifted, the gear shift handle broke and then I had a little bitty gear shift on the steering wheel. My husband finally sold it for $150. to some happy young man who was still driving it many years later.

Next, I had a big boat of a car that my husband had finally worn out. I drove it for quite awhile. And it wouldn’t start either. There was no way I could push that one or ask anyone else to push it. I went to buy weekly groceries with all my kids in tow one Friday morning. When I came out of the store, the car would not start – again. A taxi drove by about that time and I just got in it with all my kids and groceries and went home. When my husband  asked me where the car was,  I told him I left it in the parking lot. After that, we bought another car.

We had one of those gorgeous 1960 models with the big square windshields. It just squatted and died one day. We sold it for the price of the windshield.

It’s not always the old cars nor the cheaper models that are the clunkers. We bought a brand new station wagon and I drove it 50 miles. Then the carburetor would not work and I was stranded as usual. My kids got sick when they rode in the back because the gasoline  fumes were so strong. Never trusted that car. When we had a little more money, we bought a fancy sports car. Sometimes, it would only turn right. That was great if you wanted to go to the right. We sold that one, too. When we finally hit the big time and bought one of those super duper models that everyone envied, I watched my car being towed out of my driveway almost as much as I drove it.

Cash for Clunkers!  I wish I had known.