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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices
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To: i-node who wrote (501070)8/5/2009 11:43:04 AM
From: tejek  Read Replies (1) of 1576614
 
EDITORIAL: Let's extend cash-for-clunkers

August 4, 2009

The holy grail of href="/topics/Economic_Stimulus">economic stimulus is to quickly get money into the hands of people who will immediately spend it. Judged by that standard, cash-for-clunkers is a runaway success. The Senate shouldn't leave town this week without providing $2 billion to extend the popular program.

Launched July 27, it has almost exhausted the initial $1 billion authorized to give motorists an incentive of up to $4,500 to trade in gas-guzzling, polluting clunkers and buy higher-mileage new cars. After fueling the sale of 250,000 vehicles in a week and driving auto sales to their highest level in nearly a year, the program will sputter to a halt unless the Senate acts.

The House voted an additional $2 billion for the program Friday before leaving for its August recess. In Washington parlance it's not "new money." The House shifted the $2 billion from an energy loan guarantee program that was funded in the stimulus act. The going is tougher in the Senate, where some want to kill the program and others want to tweak it, for instance to require a greater gain in fuel efficiency.

But the junked cars averaged 15.8 mpg while those bought averaged 25.4. That's real improvement. If the Senate tinkers with the program, it would likely lapse until the House returns to reconcile the two versions, and new regulations are written. The Senate should extend the program as is. Any tweaking should be left for September, when the full Congress will be back at work. Why stall a roaring success?

newsday.com
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