Cash for Clunkers

So, there are recently a lot of articles about cash for clunkers, where the government is giving out up to $4,500 for a car that is bearly drivable. The first $1,000,000,000 budget for this program is almost used up. Now Congress is asking for another $2 billion to extend the program to Labor Day. The pull as I have heard is (1) to get the low MPG cars off the road, and (2) to jump start the auto industry by increasing their sales.

But the way I see it (personally), is that indirectly I am giving money ($4,500) to some "lucky winner" to buy a brand new car!! Don't get me wrong, I am a very "green" person and am definitely in agreement with getting some of these fuel inefficient cars off the road. But at $4,500 a pop?! out of the governments pockets (which may I remind you, is already in deep hole)?!!! The $1 billion only benefited about 250,000 individuals or families who purchased the cars. The $2 billion additional funding if passed, will also only benefit another lucky group of 500,000.

So, folks, help a Chinese-American understand this. How can our legislative branch of the government pass something that does not benefit the majority of the people of the USofA? How can the government spend money (potentially $3 billion - part of my hard earn money funded to the government through something called "Income Tax") on such a small group of people? The $4,500 became pure and simple "gains" on these people's "balance sheet". Where is my share of that? It's not like I didn't pay for my gas efficient car at full price before! So, are you saying that I should have kept driving my banged up car and continue to pump harmful gases into the environment, then one day the government will say "good job, you have passed the test of endurance", and for that, collect $4,500?! And last question, how can the government spend so much money that it does not have? Who is going to pay for it? Someone, somehow will have to, sooner or later. Money, I believe, doesn't grow on trees!!