Glenn Beck is an idiot.

Having stated the obvious, Charles, I would like to object (again) to the use of the word “clunkers” in this program.

The whole thing is a not-even-thinly-veiled giveaway to consumers (any consumers, without means testing - you can be a car collector and get a deal this way as long as the absurd criteria are met) for the benefit of the auto industry (the whole auto industry - not just those who are struggling, but any dealer with cars that have an ever-so-slightly higher mileage rating than the ones to be junked) and the glory of the government. With an environmental fig-leaf thrown in.

My under-50k, mechanically perfect Lincoln qualifies, because it gets a city-highway average mpg that is politically incorrect. The jump in efficiency required to join the program is so small, it would take a couple of decades of constant driving for me to realize a net environmental benefit after accounting for the cost of junking a perfectly good vehicle, the cost of the giveaway, and the eco-cost of building the new car. I’m planning to keep my Connie (and park it in “hybrids only” spaces at Whole Foods just for fun) as long as it runs, just to cheese off the carbon-Nazis.

Anyone who thinks this “clunker junker” program has anything whatsoever to do with environmental concerns is deluded.

It’s stimulus, pure and simple, and I’m certainly not against that, especially when it seems to work better than just about any other stimulus so far. Just spare me the morally puffed-up crap that accompanies it.