Well penniless and under a bridge is right where democrats want you, so they can play savior as big government, so its a match made in heaven for the two....
For the rest of us however, personal responsibility and personal dignity have a place in our lives. Thankfully.
Now, the program did have an impact - in that it sold more cars. However, this is a short term gain that did nothing but, as noted beforehand, created an artificial demand.
Yes, it helped car companies - for the duration. But all those people that MIGHT have bought cars in the next 2 quarters, and instead bought one now, are sales that have only a short term impact, rather than provide longer term stability to the market, and thus its suppliers, the car makers.
After all, if you bought a car within the last 6 months and got a "cash for clunkers" deal, would you be running out to get that other one you were planning on? Highly doubtful.
As for Ford, the reality is they did excellent for 2 major reasons. One, they were financially sound to start with, so this is just a boost for them that they can enjoy and continue to maintain somewhat smart business practices and thus, stay solvent.
Additionally, it was widely known that of all the US car makers, Ford was the only one that DIDN'T need a bailout. Thus, they were seen as the preference by most buyer - because if your going to buy a car or truck, are you going to buy it from a healthy company, or a "we might be bankrupt if we don't get a government bailout" company? Americans simply showed that, bailout or not, we reward companies that are smarter than their competition. And people say the free market doesn't work.....
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Good Hunting!
Captain Haplo
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