The article below describes the latest installment of Obama's bailout is to provide rebates for old appliances.
Just how many of these 'incentives' and 'stimuli' do we need at taxpayer expense? Why should the government be in the business of artificially stimulating (or penalizing) the economy for any reason at all? What happens to retailers after this artificial spike in demand? Do we have another bailout in January because appliance sales have fallen to even lower levels?
So once again, the taxpayers get the shaft, having to pay for yet another government giveaway.
2010 and 2012 can't come soon enough for me to cast my vote to get these guys out of office. I'm tired of the government taking my money away from me for stupid stuff like this.
'Clunker' appliance plan short on details - Retail - msnbc.com
Call it the “Cash for Kitchen (and laundry room) Clunkers” program.
If you have an old energy-guzzling refrigerator, air conditioner or washing machine you’d love to replace, it may be a good idea to wait until November when a cash-for-clunkers type program for home appliances begins to roll out across the country.
The rebate program, part of the government's $787 billion economic stimulus package, provides $300 million in federal funds to encourage consumers to buy energy-efficient appliances.
But it is unclear how much the appliance program will save in terms of energy consumption — and whether these appliances will be recycled or just end up in a landfill.
And unlike the hugely successful $3 billion “Cash for Clunkers” vehicle trade-in program, the appliance rebates will be handed out under a hodgepodge of plans implemented by individual states, with the money divvied up according to each state's population.
Consumers will be eligible for a rebate only if they buy products that meet federal Energy Star qualifications for appliance efficiency. Rebates under the program could range from $50 to $250, depending on the type of appliance.
States have until mid-October to come up with their own plans for how the rebate programs will work, what appliances will be included, how much will be paid out and even how to dispose of the "clunkers."
While there is no recycling requirement, the Department of Energy “is encouraging states and territories to include appliance-recycling programs along with the rebate programs to help remove inefficient products from the electric grid,” said Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the department.