International Law

Chinese Cash for Clunkers

By Stan

Because the best way to spend that important stimulus money is to get people to buy more cars:

China will expand schemes that give consumers a discount if they trade in old cars and household appliances for new ones, according to Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei.

The programs will contribute to a fresh drive by the government to boost rural and urban consumption next year to push up overall economic growth, Xinhua news agency quoted Jiang at the weekend as telling a forum in Beijing.

The trade-in offers, along with tax rebates for rural buyers of domestic appliances and tax breaks on fuel-efficient cars, have helped sustain retail sales, which rose 16.2 percent in the year to October. (Reuters)

{sigh}

Bad idea in the U.S., bad idea here. I hope that at least someone will do a serious study on the effects of this policy on the environment at some point in the future.

The “Cash for Clunkers” program in the U.S., it turns out, didn’t do all that much to help the environment. Kept a bunch of folks temporarily employed at auto factories across the Midwest, but that’s about it.

I suppose, however, that between car purchases and illicit property and stock speculation, I’d rather have the money being spent on cars. But it’s a lesser of two, or three, evils.

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Full post as published by China Hearsay on December 01, 2009 (boomark / email).