Cash for Clunkers: Clunk!

The Boston Globe reports today that dealers are now facing slow sales again after the "Cars for Clunkers" program has ended.

From the Globe article:

• Analysts predicted that Cash for Clunkers would not boost sales for the year. September’s sales swoon seems to be making their case.
• Most sales were of foreign models.
• Most dealers are still waiting for voucher reimbursements.
• “It was probably, in the end, a complete waste of taxpayer money,’’ said John Wolkonowicz, a senior auto analyst at IHS Global Insight.
• In addition to the formidable paperwork, the government website set up to process the deals kept crashing, creating a backlog.
  
• Wolkonowicz said the fall slowdown may have been worsened by the program.
  

This was an ill-advised program, poorly executed, and emblematic of what happens when government gets involved in marketplaces.
 
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