Cash for Clunkers?

I got this from fellow CHS member P.J. Holmes in Texas. P.J. has sent this in to the Houston Chronicle. This Congress has lost their minds!

Hello,

Long time reader,first time writer.

The real problem with the Clunker program is that you are junking cars and trucks that don't have a smog issue. In our state, we have in some counties where you can turn in your car or truck if it has a smog issue and a certain dollar figure is given in returned for a "new" or "used" vehicle of a certain age. Smart,you get smog off the roads and all classes of people can use the program.
With the "Clunker" program, you can only buy a new car. I don't know about you, but the rich,this won't make a difference. Middle class and lower middle class???? Got kids in school, worried about their jobs, house payments....bet they aren't in line at the dealers. So, you have a deal for the upper middle class to save 4500.00 off a new car purchase... trade in their car or truck and let them junk it. Wait..it doesn't have a smog issue, just doesn't get great fuel mileage... So for the 1 billion dollars we took out over 225,000 cars and trucks that the middle and lower middle class would have purchased when the upper middle class traded in their cars... Been working like this forever...... Gone.... So, now we have driven up the cost of a used car,(less supply) to the middle class, who are going to pay in the form of higher income tax for the upper middle class to buy a new car. And with less supply of used cars, people will have to hold on to their cars longer. Which means more smog on the roads.......And they want to add another 2 billion to this program. If they wanted to do something smart, they could have collected all the cars and trucks and swapped them to someone that had a vehicle with a smog issue and crushed all the junk. But no, they are junking vehicles that may only get 15mph....
and we are getting to foot the bill ( well maybe my kids and grandkids).

Best regards,

P.J.Holmes