Cash for Clunkers: A Costly Venture?

The goal of the Obama-created "Cash for Clunkers" program was simple: stimulate the economy and reduce carbon emissions by getting gas guzzlers off the road. A goal, that at first glance, seems noble--a veritable win-win.

While it may have helped consumers save money, the long-term environmental effects may, or may not have been worth it.

There is no doubt about it, a $4,500 voucher towards a new car is incredibly alluring. This was what was offered up by the White House to trade in your older "clunker" and to get consumers to part with some of the cold, hard cash they have been holding onto with tight, white knuckles ever since the recession began.

While the program seemed noble, and originally started out with the mandate that old cars be replaced with ones with better gas mileage by double digits, Washington soon lowered that mandate to simply two mile per gallon improvement.

Additionally, cars had to be completely destroyed. The media quickly jumped on images of Ferraris getting squashed all in the name of economic stimulation. Meanwhile, landfills will be taking on all the un-recyclable parts of approximately 690,000 cars that were part of the program. And the ozone layer will be dissipating further as it absorbs the emissions it took to make the new cars in the first place. The AP deduced the whole Cash for Clunkers program would have the same effect as turning off all of America's power for a mere three hours.

The money for the program was pulled from a fund formerly designed for renewable energy research. What do you think, do you think the Cash for Clunkers program was worth it, or that it ultimately cost us in the long run?