Why are Democrats crushing perfectly good cars rather than giving them to the poor that have no cars?

It's not just that they are crushing the cars and not giving them to the poor. They are actually destroying wealth (see the fallacy of the broken window on wikipedia). When you artificially remove the cars from the society by destroying them, you increase the scarcity of used cars, which in turn causes the price for all used cars to go up. It also makes used car parts rarer, which also drives up prices. So it's not just a matter of not giving away the cars. The program hurts the poor.

To the jerk who said that many people own two cars. Yes, they are often the real clunkers, though. I don't own a car AT ALL.

I used to live in a place where you HAD to have a car. Maybe those poor people live in those places.

Plus, this program is not environmentally friendly AT ALL.

I can't believe how stupid people are on here!!

I do walk, ride my bike, and take public transportation whenever possible, despite my relatively rural location. When I use my fuel efficient car, I maintain a reasonable speed and avoid jack-rabbit starts. I fill my tank less than once a month. I do this because I am self aware and globally conscious... I am not a democrat. It's people with your attitude that are "killing us all". If you had any foresight at all, you'd realize that we depend on our fossil fuels for much more than transportation, but in the manufacture of products we need now and in the future, and there is wisdom in holding on to the reserves we have. I know that my efforts are countered by the ignorant, like you, but I persevere. What ,exactly, is your excuse for being such a douchebag? EDIT: No, being a glutton is not the American way. You disgrace the rest of us.

Because they do not care about people. To them if you cannot afford a Prius you should not drive. The fact that Public transportation is not available in rural areas where housing is affordable doesn't bother them. I say crush politicians who crush cars. And I support Guns for the Homeless!

Um, so now you WANT to give people something rather than them earning it themselves?

This was YOUR suggestion. Make up your mind.

Schizo.

And how are these poor people supposed to afford the upkeep on these clunkers? You do know they cost more to keep on the road via repairs and maintenance, right? Oh, you don't own a car! And you are only 12! Ok.

All those old cars that are being recycled are replaced by new cars bought at the dealership, which will eventually become fuel efficient old cars which will be put back on the market.

In the meantime, if Republicans are so concerned about the lack of transportation for poor people, maybe they could fund better public transportation. But of course that will never happened, because they are nothing more than concern trolls.

It's called "recycling" and the removal of low efficiency and high-polluting vehicles from the national fleet benefits everyone.

Certainly, the US Military members who risk their lives daily to insure the oil lanes in the Middle East are flowing, also wish for the US to consume less, as well. (Talk about an unseen subsidy for US energy consumption - the US Military commits multi-billions towards this goal)

(gasp) you want cars to be...given...to the poor!

Isn't that socialism! Or communism? Or some other "ism?"

Maybe you should have one of your republicans propose that one. I think they would be shot on the spot.

BTW, the cars are stripped and possibly recycled. Anyway, it's more about the economy and less about the environment.

because it is one of their "feel good" programs. Perfectly good cars will be scraped. The scraping process will pollute the planet, thus reversing any good that getting a more fuel friendly car will get. it also allows people to take on additional debt, where they might have been perfectly fine without a car payment. Encouraging people to take out debt during a recession......doesn't seem too smart to me.

it isnt democrat or repub, most governments do this, its called stupidity, sell the damn things and use the money for education or health and so on, in the UK they crushed a car that was worth over 100k and what a waste it was, 100k is like 5 or 6 nurses for a year WTF

I hear the 1/3 of the below poverty people own two cars