Government Bails Itself Out At GM: Cash For Clunkers Gets $2 Billion

The $1 billion “Cash for Clunkers” program was an ideal way for the government to protect its $50 billion investment in GM by stimulating domestic car sales as the industry enters the critical new model season.

The trouble with the plan is that the fund exhausted itself in a few days. Pent up demand for new cars caused a flood of trade-ins.

Congress has passed another $2 billion in funding to be taken from the $787 stimulus package. The clunkers program should have helped July sales, and now it can boost activity in August. Car sales figures may look encouraging for the first time in over a year.

Douglas A. McIntyre