LETTER: 'Cash for Clunkers' is not a good deal

The so-called Cash for Clunkers program has enjoyed tremendous support from people who think they’re getting a good deal on their old cars as well as virtually all of our politicians, including 8th District Rep. Jo Ann Emerson.

What people don’t realize or don’t care about is that there is no such thing as government money. The cash they’re getting for their clunker came out of the taxpayers' pockets. Now that the government is in the auto industry and eager to promote the types of cars they think Americans should drive, the Obama administration, with the support of Mrs. Emerson, is in the process of eliminating the used car market at the taxpayer’s expense. Soon, the auto-buying public will have no choice but to buy cars that were built by people who are secure in the knowledge that they no longer have to be competitive or satisfy what the consumer needs or wants.

As with any government subsidy or billion-dollar bailout, this only makes a bad situation worse. Last fall, Mrs. Emerson voted to give $700 billion of your money to a bunch of millionaire bankers for absolutely no other reason than that those same bankers told her to do so. Since then, a good portion of that money has simply disappeared, and neither the Federal Reserve nor anyone in Congress is willing to tell the American people where the money went. It’s time to put a stop to all these socialist bailout programs, and getting rid of those who vote for them is the only way to do it.