I’m concerned, and let me tell you why. Today, I just read the following in the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal:
Remember “cash for clunkers,” the program that subsidized Americans to the tune of $3 billion to buy a new car? Transportation Secretary Ray LaHodd declared in August that, “This is the one stimulus program that seems to be working better than just about any other program.”
If that’s true, heaven help the other programs. Last week U.S. automakers reported that new car sales for September, the first since the clunker program expired, sank by 25% from a year earlier. Sales at GM and Chrysler fell by 45% and 42% respectively. Ford was down 5%. Some 700,000 cars were sold in the summer under the program as buyers received up to $4,500 to buy a new car they would probably have purchased anyway. So all the program seems to have done is steal those sales from the future…..”
Here’s my thought: re-read the article and replace “cash for clunkers” with “homebuyer tax credit.” Replace “U.S. automakers reported 25% decline since the program expired” with “NAR reports….”
Hmm…..
File Under: I’m getting nervous
