Some Cash for Clunker math

here:

We all contributed to spending $3 billion to save $350 million. How good a deal was that ??? They’ll probably do a better job with health care though.--Ed Lambert

You forgot to value the cars destroyed! Let’s say the average clunker is valued a $3,000 (probably low) times the 700,000 estimate of clunkers destroyed – equals to $2.1 billion in value destroyed! So we spend $3 billion to destroy assets valued at $2.1 billion – great investment strategy.--hstad

All I know is, if I’d sold a clunker for $4,500 I could have gone right out and bought three $1,500 clunkers and sold them for $4,500 each, or $13,500. That’s a solid win-win business plan — for everybody except the taxpayer.--McGehee

and a nice anti-math point:

It’s the reduction in air pollution! And the enhanced national security! (Phew! Those should be safely unquantifiable…)--RNB