The Cash for Clunkers Program

New information released from the government and private sources may give us a final analysis for a well intended program by the Feds (aren't they all?) that to be kind, had both good and bad results.

The program was initiated in conjunction with the Federal Stimulus program to help a very sagging economy. The government set aside $3 Billion dollars to pay rebates on new vehicles when a old vehicle was used as a trade-in. Very few stipulations were involved other than an improvement in the miles per gallon ranging from 4mpg to 10mpg. The rebate was based on the improvement with $3500 on the low side and $4500 on the high side of the improvement.

To be fair, a dealership in El Monte, California sold 1,433 vehicles during the two months allowed at a business profit of $30 million dollars. But the program was plagued with problems according to Edmunds.com. The nearly 690,000 vehicles sold in July and August were at a cost of $24,000 per car as a direct result of the program. Edmunds stated that only 18% were a direct result and the remaining would have happened anyway. In at least 145 cases the government reported paying out $562,500 in rebates for new cars and trucks that got worse or the same mileage as the trade-ins - in violation of the programs restrictions.

The most popular trades involved new Ford F-150 Trucks and Ford Explorers. Ford was the only automobile company not to take Federal Bailout money and reported this week nearly $1 Billion dollars profit for the 3rd Quarter. Perhaps a big statement about federal non-interference and a nation founded on a free market system.

Big Wins for Conservatives

Let me make it very clear. The Conservatives movement is alive and doing well. Last night in Virginia the Republican Candidate, Bob McDonnell soundly beat the Democratic candidate for the office of Governor. This is huge turnaround for a state which gave the Obama Administration a 6 point margin of victory last November. The Democratic Governors Association and Democratic Committee invested $10 million dollars to hold on to the state for the third time in a row. Obama came to Virginia to campaign for the democratic many times.

In New Jersey perhaps the biggest shock of the evening to the Democrats was the loss of the Governors race to Republican Chris Christie. Again, Obama came in to help out with the campaign many times including the day before the elections. The Corzine campaign received millions of dollars from the national committee to help. Corzine was unapologetic in his support of the Obama Administration. The voters however recognized the statewide corruption and rebelled against some of the most onerous state taxes in the nation.

Now you are going to hear from the spinsters that this was not any repudiation of the Obama Administration but the evidence is quite clear that Obama spent many hours in each state campaigning and tens of millions of dollars were spent. Exit polls showed that beyond the relative state issues, the voters were expressing opposition to the direction they felt the federal government was taking them. Even the most liberal NBC news declared in late night headlines that these victories in Virginia and New Jersey were 'a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election (next) year'."

Sorry Charlie!

While the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is attempting to put forth what some are calling the worst legislation in the history of our nation, I can assure you that she is taking care of business at home and I mean that literally.

Ms. Pelosi's home district includes San Francisco, the home of StarKist Tuna. StarKist is owned by Del Monte Foods and a major contributor to the Speakers campaign fund. But wait...it gets better. The Speakers husband owns $17 million dollars of StarKist stock.

Now let me give you another fact. StarKist is a major employer in the American Samoa and employs 75% of the Samoan work force. In January 2007 when the minimum wage was increased from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour, Pelosi had American Samoa exempted from the increase so Del Monte would not have to pay the higher wage. This would make the products less expensive than that of its competitors.

Oh but it gets even better. This year when the huge bailout bill was passed, Pelosi added an earmark to the final bill adding $33 million dollars for an "economic development credit in American Samoa". While she is attempting to take over one-sixth of the economy and putting our children and grandchildren in debt, she has no problem with conflict of interest. Talk about Corrupt! How do you spell Hypocrisy?

The Next Republican President

Telling the Truth

Yesterday morning the Associated Press published an opinion by Ricardo Zaldivar in which he questioned all the complaints over the House Health Reform bill released by Speaker Pelosi. He stated that the government plan would not shut down private providers.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, only six million would sign up. This represents just 2% of the 282 million under age 65. The "overwhelming majority of the population would remain in private plans sponsored by employers. Others would be covered through an expanded Medicaid program." The CBO also claimed "a less healthy pool of enrollees" would be attracted to the public option, and this would result in higher premiums than most private plans.

This bill has new taxes for the rich, as well as fines and penalties for individuals and businesses that do not participate. Employers will cut costs and opt out of private plans leaving employees no choice but the government plan. This bill also proposes a $426 Billion cut in Medicare which would fall on the backs of senior citizens.

The government option puts in place the machinery that will run the private health insurance companies out of business. You can't expect the plan to jump in with a huge market share. This may scare voters. But they will increase their share by using the bottomless well of taxpayer funds and an endless parade of new government regulations to run the private insurers out of business. That is my opinion.

TO CONGRESS, THE FIVE PLEDGES

This article is from the Glenn Beck Show on Fox and published in September 2009. It is a worth remembering today and forever.

1. I believe in a balanced budget and therefore will vote for a freeze in government spending until that goal is realized.

2. I believe government should not increase the financial burden on its citizenry during difficult economic times therefore I will oppose all tax increases until our economy has rebounded.

3. I believe more than four decades of U.S. dependence on foreign oil is a travesty, therefore I will support an energy plan that calls for immediately increasing usage of all domestic resources including nuclear energy, natural gas, and coal as necessary.

4. I believe in the sovereignty and security of our country and therefore will support measures to close our borders except for designated immigration points so we will know who is entering and why andI will vehemently oppose any measure giving another country, the United Nations, or any other entity, power over U.S. citizens.

5. I believe the United States of America is the greatest country on earth and therefore will not apologize for policies or actions which have served to free more and feed more people around the world than any other nation on the planet.