Incentive program is no clunker for consumers

This editorial appears in the Aug. 6, 2009, Yakima Herald-Republic.

It's rare when Congress hits a home run. But, in this long hot summer when the nation's economy is still being shadowed by the worst recession since the Great Depression, the "cash for clunkers" program has turned into baseball's proverbial four-bagger.

Of course, it has proven to be too successful. Imagine that? It turns out consumers couldn't wait for a chance to trade in their clunkers and pick up a government-paid rebate up to $4,500 for the purchase of new vehicles with much better gas mileage. In less than a week, car dealerships from Portsmouth to Prosser had processed enough sales to wipe out the $1 billion that Congress had appropriated. It was supposed to have lasted into November.

Realizing they had a bona fide hit on their hands, House lawmakers zipped through an additional $2 billion appropriation Friday.

Now the nation waits breathlessly to see if the Senate will follow suit. The clock is ticking. Senators are heading out Friday on their monthlong summer recess.

While there have been some early grumblings about a filibuster from Senate Republicans, we hope that's not the case. This program needs the added boost. Yes, the $2 billion is a twofold increase over the original outlay of funds and, yes, this nation has to come to grips with a worsening deficit.

But let's do a reality check. The extra $2 billion is minuscule compared to the cost of running the federal government, which plows through more than that -- around $3 billion -- in just half a day.

Furthermore, the program is providing a kick-start to the Main Street economy, something that has been agonizingly slow with the previous $775 billion stimulus package that was passed earlier in the year. At least with the "cash for clunkers" program, real money is being doled out in real time to real consumers. It's a winning combination.

Critics have been quick to belittle the clunker program as an ill-conceived attempt to convince consumers they are helping the environment. Its beneficial effect on energy consumption doesn't really pencil out when you factor in the costs of building a new vehicle that requires energy-intensive processes like steel and plastic manufacturing. Then there's the environmental price tag for junk-piling those gas-guzzling clunkers with their crankcases of thickened oil.

We still take issue with the minimal differences in gas mileage that the "cash for clunkers" program espouses. The difference between what is being turned in compared to the new vehicle's higher gas mileage is too small.

What makes this program a success is the way it's driving the economy -- forward. It has brought the stimulus package to Main Street. The public is driving off car lots with new vehicles, dealerships are seeing twofold increases in sales and, guess what, car manufacturers finally are getting around to the business of producing vehicles as opposed to handing out layoff notices.

Is this cash-rebate program the best Congress has ever devised? No, but it's certainly not a clunker.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.