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Posts Tagged ‘economy’

Following much debate, Congress has finally completed a cash-for-clunkers deal that will provide vouchers to as many as one million new-car buyers who trade in an old automobile that will be scrapped.

The bill contains no provision requiring the replacement cars to be made in the United States, since import-branded automakers and international groups claimed it would be a violation of the free trade agreements.

Two controversial issues right now, are whether or not the bill will in fact help the environment, and if it will significantly decrease dependence on imported fuels.

Several environmental groups have stated their belief that accelerating the production of new cars, and thereby replacing older models before their time, will actually cause more environmental damage than driving less fuel-efficient older cars would.

Other groups say that far more aggressive mileage figures for new models should have been demanded.

Something which has received little press coverage so far, is that it will be possible to use the vouchers for public transportation.

Under the agreement, a clunker must be getting less than 18 mpg in combined city and highway mileage in order to qualify, and new cars that get 22 mpg or better will qualify for vouchers.

A new car with at least 4 mpg better than the clunker will get you a $3,500 voucher, and if the new car gets 10 mpg higher, it’s good for a $4,500 voucher.

For light-duty pickups and SUVs, the same 18 mpg requirement stands for clunkers, but to receive a $3,500 voucher the new truck or SUV has to get at least 2 mpg more than the clunker, and for a $4,500 voucher, a 5 mpg improvement is required.

New heavy-duty trucks must get at least 15 mpg and have a 1 mpg improvement over the clunker for a $3,500 voucher, and a 2 mpg improvement will qualify it for a $4,500 voucher.

Work trucks and vans won’t have a gas mileage requirement since the majority of them aren’t rated by the EPA, but to qualify for the program the clunker has to be a pre-2002 model year and weigh between 8,500 and 10,000 pounds, and to receive the $3,500 voucher, the new work truck has to be a similar or smaller class of vehicle.
The program was modeled on a similar law in Germany which has been credited with boosting car sales there.

The Three Biggest Lies the Government Is Telling You by Charles …

lewrockwell.com1/27/12

So I have chosen to focus on lies about each: the Federal Reserve, the orchestrator of monetary policy; the U.S. budget, the accounting of government fiscal policy; and a few of the Empire's war lies. I am sharing just a … The World Bank gets almost all of its money by way of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD),( also not a bank), which gets its money from taxes, the largest share coming from the American people. The IBRD also sells …

In defense of capitalism | RedState

www.redstate.com1/12/12

So all you people defending Mitt Romney's corporate activity as unassailable because by God the business of America is business and what not, remember he once made clear he didn't much care for you guys. …. (Actually it sounds quite a bit like what happened to the banks. …. I have said for months that Rush, Beck, Hannity even Palin keep telling us what our candidate should look like and then we have one and they won't put their money where their mouths are. …

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The just released government’s “stress-test” results suggest that ten of the nation’s nineteen biggest banks will need a total of around $75 billion in new capital in order to withstand losses if the recession worsens.

According to the tests, some of the largest banks are stable, whilst others will need billions more in capital.

Meanwhile, government officials are stressing that the banking industry is still viable in spite of its vulnerability, but concur that it will need massive injections of capital if there’s to be an economic rebound.

The official line is, that none of the banks will be allowed to fail, and that it’s hoped that the tests will restore investors’ confidence, that not all the nation’s banks are seriously weak, and that those that are can be strengthened.

Kevin Logan, who is chief U.S. economist at Dresdner Kleinwort said, “Looking at the big picture, you can say that things aren’t so bad for the financial industry as a whole. The banking industry is not going to make a lot of money going forward, and that’s a dilemma for keeping banks solvent and getting them lending”.

The ten banks that need more capital, have until June 8th to develop a plan and to have it approved by their regulators, and analysts say that the test results sketched an encouraging but cautious picture of the banks.