Of all of the projects that our government has passed, Cash for Clunkers has been one of the most debated.  This was a program that let Americans with older, less fuel efficient cars trade them in for a brand new car, plus a government rebate.  The government gave all buyers $4,500 if their new car was fuel efficient enough.  There are great points for and against this program, and it is a hot debate.  On the plus side, this jumpstarted the failing car industry, helped make cars more fuel efficient, and even made cars safer due to updates in technology.  However, four of the five dealerships that sold the most cars were actually foreign dealers, many cars that would have gone to charity went to a landfill instead, and the car sales are now expected to drop drastically.  So did it do its job to restart the car industry and help the environment, or was it just a waste of valuable taxpayer dollars?
When asked about this program, Niki Heller, a junior at FRA, had this to say. “I think it was a good idea for the environment, but didn’t help the car industry very much and it had a funny name.”