Unintended Consequences of Government Stimulus: Cash for Clunkers Led to Inflation and Crime

It's been almost a year and a half since the government subsidized a new car buying spree across the United States called Cash for Clunkers. Both Democrats and some Republicans like Roy Blunt voted to pass Cash for Clunkers. Did Cash for Clunkers work? What do you think?

Of course it didn't. In fact it caused a bigger mess that was counterproductive to what it was intended to do. This is an excellent video that explains how Cash for Clunkers was a failure. It removed assets and created debt. It led to inflation of used car prices. It led to increased crime as criminals began stealing used cars to take advantage of the inflated used car prices and car parts. As well, while part of the mission of Cash for Clunkers was environmental, it caused an environmental nightmare.



This video also shows some other examples of how stimulus is ruining the economy and making things for tougher for Americans. It even brings up one of my big issues and explains how the federal student loan program actually makes things worse for students. This is a great video and worth the ten minutes to watch.