This is in reference to the AP article "Long Lines of Clunkers Await Deaths at Scrap Yards" featured Friday, Aug. 7. I note from this article that older, driveable cars are being purposely made non-usable by pouring of sodium silicate into the engine until they fatally seize up. A 1999 Ford Explorer with 140,000 miles was mentioned, as well as several cars from the late '80s. It appears that labeling these cars "clunkers" justifies this destruction of otherwise useful vehicles.
First of all, swallowing hard to accept the fact that our hard-earned tax dollars are being used to finance our neighbors' new car purchases, when many of us could probably better afford to meet our own transportation needs if the money were not taxed out of our wallets in the first place, we look at the disposition of our neighbors' cast-offs.
How wasteful! If one truly wanted to help get the real "clunkers" off the road, why not channel them to struggling families who either cannot afford a car or who are driving around even older ones? Those without cars could then use these cars to apply for jobs that require transportation to and from work. Those on welfare and food stamps might actually afford to be able to come off of these programs. Single parents barely scraping by would probably be glad to trade in their 1977-87 rusted clunkers for a newer used car. I know some often like to disparage "trickle down economics," but could we not allow some if this wealth to trickle down to those who cannot even afford to get a newer used car? The minimum wage people the politicians say they want to help are left out in the cold by such senseless waste of cars that would otherwise serve them well.
Second, what provisions have been made to ensure that all this money being poured into the economy helps benefit the domestic automobile companies? If one checks the statistics on cars being snapped up, it appears that much of our hard-earned tax dollars are pouring into companies headquartered overseas.
Finally, in an age where government is seeking to influence and control the cars we drive and the money spent on health care, I urge all of you to be very watchful of what and/or who is labeled a "clunker."
