Operation Blood in the Streets

[RicInOR]

My understanding is the purpose is to stimulate sale of new cars, not strand people on public transport.

I never participated in the previous program (2008?) but I think it was required that you trade the car into a dealer?

Incentives to buy - I have no real problem with unless you are using my money for those incentives.

The issue was that the old cars were destroyed. Dealers poured acid i See Post: n the engine blocks, etc. ( well contractors ... but they could not be resold, traded, etc except as scrap - and they were forced to be destroyed, no one was taking the dealers word on it. )

No Cash for Clunkers - Freakonomics

Photo: Bogdan Suditu Princeton economist Alan Blinder recently proposed a new government program he christened “Cash for Clunkers” in an article in The Times‘s Business section. Under the program, the government would buy back old cars at above market prices and scrap them. According to Blinder...

freakonomics.com

" Under the program, the government would buy back old cars at above market prices and scrap them. According to Blinder, this would accomplish a policy trifecta: 1) help the environment by getting the most polluting cars off the road; 2) stimulate the economy by getting money in the hands of people who will spend it and increase the demand for new cars; and 3) reduce income inequality by funneling the money to the poor.

I am skeptical of this proposal for a number of reasons."

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2014/08/14/obamas-cash-for-clunkers-stimulus-bailout-failed-car-companies

" the program was meant to "boost the economy" by allowing "folks to trade in their older less fuel-efficient cars for credits that go towards buying newer more fuel-efficient cars." Even before the program ended, the president argued that "it has succeeded well beyond our expectations and all expectations" despite the fact that "there were skeptics who weren't sure that this Cash for Clunkers program would work."
The question is: Did the program work? "

The PDF in the article is no longer available at their provided link.



Edit - apparently not acid, link to post with correct info. The result is the same - the engine cannot be used.

 

[The Heretic]

What they put in the engines was a chemical that basically hardened into glass and either froze the engine or caused enough damage that it would never be usable again.

This chemical has been known for decades as used by people who wanted to get revenge on someone by pouring it into the engine of someone they hate enough to do that.

 

[thorborg]

Not having cash available can be a regrettable lesson.
In the 80's I built transformers for a company full of promises having developed and making space age infra red equipment (Flir) Their ownership did bad things dropping them to their knees and their stock dropped to about a buck. As an engineer I knew the technology they had developed was a winner, with their patents still sound for many years so wanted badly to invest but had just soaked every dime had buying a small farm. Over the next few years I watched the stock quickly rise to over 40 bucks , split, and repeat that scenario several times more.
Other than selling the farm and moving to the city, not jumping on the opportunity to invest in Flir when they were nearly dead is truly the only real regret I have had in my life.

 

[ma96782]

Trade-in your gas guzzler for a newer more fuel-efficient vehicle.

I thought oil was at an all-time low?

Rrright..... drive those oil prices even lower. Decrease demand at the cost of those jobs. More unemployment. Only the Govt "helps" to choose the winners and losers. Not to mention that Americans like foreign vehicles. Yeah.....I'll probably need to see the data on the last "Gas For Guzzlers" to confirm that idea. Anyway, OK, Ok, ok.....it's nothing new.

But.....what can I say I drive a Prius. LOL...what if..... I could afford a NEW TESLA?

Aloha, Mark

 

[The Heretic]

Trade-in your gas guzzler for a newer more fuel-efficient vehicle.

I thought oil was at an all-time low?

1) Cash for clunkers in 2008 was primarily a stimulus for the automobile industry, fuel efficiency was a secondary objective, and emissions was also a factor.

2) Any cash for clunkers we might see in the near future would probably be solely for a stimulus as the Trump regime seems to be against fuel efficiency and pro emissions. It Trump loses the election, the opposite will be true.

Whatever the incentive, if it comes to pass that we get such a program, if you have a "clunker" and it meets the criteria of the program, and your income is stable and secure, and you are in the market for a new vehicle, it might be beneficial to take advantage of the program. YMMV

 

[wp4]

1) Cash for clunkers in 2008 was primarily a stimulus for the automobile industry, fuel efficiency was a secondary objective, and emissions was also a factor.

2) Any cash for clunkers we might see in the near future would probably be solely for a stimulus as the Trump regime seems to be against fuel efficiency and pro emissions. It Trump loses the election, the opposite will be true.

Whatever the incentive, if it comes to pass that we get such a program, if you have a "clunker" and it meets the criteria of the program, and your income is stable and secure, and you are in the market for a new vehicle, it might be beneficial to take advantage of the program. YMMV

Maybe people will be able to trade in the now 12 year old car from ca$h 4 klunkers 1.0!!!

 

[The Heretic]

Maybe people will be able to trade in the now 12 year old car from ca$h 4 klunkers 1.0!!!

Most people don't keep their cars that long. My kids have a 20 year old clunker sitting in their driveway, but it is not currently registered/insured/running.

 

[wp4]

Most people don't keep their cars that long. My kids have a 20 year old clunker sitting in their driveway, but it is not currently registered/insured/running.

Twas a poor attempt at a joke.

 

[The Heretic]

Twas a poor attempt at a joke.

 

[RicInOR]

Most people don't keep their cars that long. My kids have a 20 year old clunker sitting in their driveway, but it is not currently registered/insured/running.

My 2001 Grandpa Gold Corrola is still running - and in the parking lot here at work.

 

[The Heretic]

A 47-year market vet explains why he sees the economy's 'super-cycle' hurtling towards depression — and lays out his case for an 80% stock plunge later this year

David Hunter, chief macro strategist at Contrarian Macro Advisors, sees "a bear market of historic proportions" barreling down the pike.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Marine Airedale]

Most people don't keep their cars that long. My kids have a 20 year old clunker sitting in their driveway, but it is not currently registered/insured/running.

I must be an anomaly. I have three vehicles a 2018, a 2002 and a 1992. Each one fills a distinct purpose. None of them are 'clunkers'. I have the tools and knowledge to work on all but the newest one myself, it is still under warranty anyway. The skills I learned twisting wrenches and chasing bubbles on helo's all those years ago have been put to use often. Have not used the skills learned in the operation of a M2 Browning, at least 'yet'.

Cheers!

 

[The Heretic]

Daimler's earnings plunge as coronavirus hammers sales

German car and truck maker Daimler <DAIGn.DE> reported a plunge of nearly 70% in first-quarter operating profit on Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic and warned that the cash flow it uses to pay dividends would fall this year.

www.reuters.com

 

[The Heretic]

That isn't particularly why they laid off people or necessarily the only reason their profits are down.

They projected last year (and started laying off people last year) that this would be a bad year for them due to an expected recession, and because of China, and because, in the USA, so many people bought so many trucks (Freightliner, Western Star, etc.) that the truck market would be full this year so truck fleets would not need new trucks this year.

But still, I am sure the CV didn't help things any.

 

[The Heretic]

Coronavirus to accelerate Social Security, Medicare depletion dates, U.S. officials say

Job and revenue losses prompted by the coronavirus will likely accelerate the depletion of Social Security and Medicare reserves, U.S. officials said on Wednesday as they released reports showing little change in the federal benefit programs' pre-pandemic finances. The 2020 Social Security and...

finance.yahoo.com

 

[The Heretic]

Many small businesses say loans won't get them to rehire

As a result, the lending may not reduce unemployment as much as the Trump administration and Congress hope. The government’s $2 trillion relief package included $349 billion for the small business loan program, which was besieged with applications and ran out of money Thursday. To get the...

finance.yahoo.com

 

[The Heretic]

I think we are in for another correction. Maybe more severe than the one we just had and are trying to recover from. Either way, if/when we get back to close to where we were in January/February, I am thinking of cashing out (moving to a Money Market fund) and then waiting a year or two before jumping back in.

Why a ‘return to normal’ could mean disaster for the stock market

It’s hard to deny, although some do, that the stock market, pre-coronavirus, was pushing the limits of what it means to be in a bubble. Of course, bubbles...

www.marketwatch.com

 

[ma96782]

4-23-2020....
CNBC reports that crude oil has rallied over 50%.

Rrrright..... after going negative (on Monday).

Aloha, Mark

 

[USMC1911]

4-23-2020....
CNBC reports that crude oil has rallied over 50%.

Rrrright..... after going negative (on Monday).

Aloha, Mark

Not hard to believe. Oil futures were trading negative only for a short time because the contracts were running out of time. Better to sell at a loss then eat the contract.

 

[The Heretic]

Federal Reserve scraps transfer limits on bank savings accounts

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Friday that banks can now allow account holders to make an unlimited number of withdrawals and transfers from their savings accounts. The Fed said the move would help ensure people can access their funds "at a time when financial events associated with the...

finance.yahoo.com