Re: How NOT to break in an engine ( Cash for Clunkers engine destruction )
I find it funny that the gov'ts idea of "helping the poor" is having them trade in a perfectly running paid for car for one that they can't afford rather than helping them fix up the one they already have.
You can't trust the gov't to run a post office. After all, "Fed Ex and UPS are doing fine, its the post office that's doing poorly."
Not to mention, I don't appreciate knowing that my tax dollars helped to buy someone a car. That's NOT what tax dollars are supposed to be used for. But what the hell, they aren't supposed to be used to bail out banks, insurance companies, any company, or anything of the sort. No wonder we're in debt up to our eyeballs.
First off, the purpose of this program was not to "help the poor." It was to help the economy. It did that just fine. The intent was never to put poor people into brand new cars.
Is the post office doing poorly? I ship out thousands of dollars worth of fragile equipment each month. I wouldn't go near UPS, who treat my packages like crap and refuse to pay off on insurance claims. Fed Ex is OK in my book, but I'm sold on USPS. They do a good job at a good price, and have done so for as long as I can remember.
What are taxes for? To ensure the continued functioning of governmental services that we need in order to continue as a nation. We can quibble about what is "needed," but programs like "Cash for Clunkers" and the bank bailouts were intended to minimize the damage caused by the tanking of the economy. You may disagree with the strategy, but others like what it has done and shudder to think what would have happened if we had taken no action at all. Sure it's unfair. However, it's more unfair for us to have a full-on depression.
As always, you can disagree with the policies, but portraying them as nonsensical? That doesn't cut it.
As to arguments like "The U.S.A needs to get back to Christian values, drill oil, and pay off our debt," it seems to me that someone campaigned using that platform and lost. It's been nearly a year. Why not toss out those sour grapes.