So, we end up with $3billion this year plus interest for the foreseeable future to save $700 million a year in oil for the next couple of years, but what was the point? The sarcastic title of Vodkapundit’s post still stands: you gotta spend money to spend money.

This program didn’t create new demand for more efficient cars it just enabled buyers to slide down the demand curve. Left on its own this transition to newer technology would have happened on its own as the clunkers came to the end of their usefullness and people were forced to buy a different vehicle. Instead, we detroyed usable vehicles (read: wealth), redistributed future money from all future taxpayers to a few present-day car buyers, and in the process threatened the future prosperity of all Americans.

I’ll ask it again. What was the point of this program?

You are right. Make the number twice as great. Still not a good deal (in part since that 3 billion is borrowed).

C4C,

You are right as well. But remember, it’s for the greater good. All of us need to sacrifice–some cars must sacrifice more than others.

Snopes looked at these numbers and found that the math was based on 42 gallons of oil per barrel which is correct. Unfortunately we only get between 19-20 gallons of gas from that 42 gallons of oil.

That makes the bottom line more like $735 million in savings per year, not the quoted $350 million. In other words more than twice your figures but still less than properly inflating your tires.