I Want My Clunker

A photo feature of the top 10 vehicles being traded in the “Cash for Clunkers” programme of the Obama administration clearly reveals the sheer madness that now grips US policymaking.

Who in India would not pay $4500 or 225,000 rupees for any of these beauties?

How can destruction of material assets be “good”?

And anyway, where is Obama getting all the money from?

Note that Obama, a social-democrat, is actually hurting poor people. Poor people (and students) buy used cars. Destroying loads of them will jack up the prices of used cars for all poor people in America. They will be further fleeced by monetary inflation.

In fact, the destruction of so many working automobiles will not only hurt the poor American, it will hurt the poor everywhere – for these gas guzzlers could have been auctioned off to the Third World poor. I am sure that my neighbourhood used car dealer, a happy sardarji by the name of Jolly, would be overjoyed to bid for them.

Indeed, Chacha Manmohan should phone Obama and offer, on behalf of the All India Used Car Dealers' Association, to buy up all the clunkers.

I was actually faced with the offer of a free clunker in Germany many years ago. My uncle had an old Benz with a big petrol engine that had failed some mandatory tests. So the choice was to either undertake expensive repairs or junk the car. But junking the car also cost money: you have to pay the car junkers. The better alternative was to sell it to some East European – who would drive the clunker to Poland or Estonia or wherever, and be forever grateful. And so my uncle began making arrangements to sell the clunker to an East European.

Sometime then, my uncle hit upon a better idea: Why not gift the old blue Benz to me? I could drive it to India and travel like a lord ever after. I pointed out the 200 percent customs duty on used cars – and regretfully declined.

The point is this: Policies in the US are stupid, yes; but policies over here are even more stupid.

We should open up used car imports – and buy all those clunkers.