Kudos to Claire McCaskill on Cash for Clunkers

I heard Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) on KMOX this afternoon.  She was talking about her concerns over Cash for Clunkers.  Her concerns should be our concerns:

• Nearly all the “clunkers” traded in so far are American manufacturers’, while nearly all of the purchases are imports.  That means less shop work for American dealerships, more for foreign dealerships
• Chrysler and, to a degree, GM have low inventories, which is driving purchases to imports.  Since those people won’t be back in the market for 3 years, it means Chrysler and GM will restock in the midst of another auto industry depression this fall
• This program has no exit strategy.  The White House’s argument for another $2 billion is to pay for deals already in the pipeline.  But neither the White House nor Congress has offered an exit strategy along with the request for more money.  If Democrats demand an exit plan from Iraq, then they can provide one for the far less complex issue of Cash for Clunkers
• There is serious debate over the environmental net impact of the program.  Destroying perfectly usable vehicles puts a lot of garbage into environment, as does the manufacture of a “green” car

For her diligence and research, I salute Senator McCaskill and say, “Thank you.”  At least, on this issue, she’s doing her job.

McCaskill also said that a lot of Republican Senators jumped over to support the $2 billion additional.  I have not had time to check this, but if true those Republicans need to answer the questions McCaskill raised and be ready to retire if their answers are nonsense.  I smell old boy network deals here.