Getting people already in financial trouble to spend even more money they don’t have

Flu,

I think that comment borders on patronizing (car buyers). Firstly, statistics show most of the buyers have been middle class and better. Secondly, in this day and age, which idiot financier will advance a dodgy loan on a fast depreciating asset? I think most of the buyers are pretty good credit risks. This is a generally good program except for the politically inspired “gerrimandering” of allowing low MPG trucks for purchase. Also, the scrappage could have been done better – for example by offering to exchange the trade in vehicles, when feasible, (for free) with really old & polluting vehicles (like the pre 1990s for example) or donating to Mexico and destroying like number of Mexican clunkers (many without any emission controls and some still using leaded gas).

On the whole, a better program than the completely dysfunctional “foreclosure prevention” crap and other stimulus boondoggle (like wire transferring funds from treasury to Goldman via AIG, almost like in a third world tinpot dictatorship).