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Obama Admin. proposes upping tax credit to $10,000 to prop up failing Volt

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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 01:48 PM
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Default Obama Admin. proposes upping tax credit to $10,000 to prop up failing Volt

As part of Obama's ludicrous $3.8T budget, they're trying to bypass the free market and pick what "succeeds". So from the current $7,500 credit that apparently is still not enough to justify a Volt purchase, maybe $10K off will sway people. Obama wants these coal powered cars on the road and he'll do anything to get them there. While also wanting electricity rates to skyrocket. His words.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/cars/o...gFR_story.html

BTW, the average income of a Volt buyer is $170,000 a year. WE are subsidizing wealthy early adopters. WTF?

Last edited by -J-P-L-; Feb 15, 2012 at 01:51 PM.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 02:20 PM
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Obama flame war in 5... 4... 3... 2...

Personally subsidizing the purchase of any vehicle is, IMO, stupid and unfair if we are supposed to be proud of capitalism. I wouldn't and don't care who would be/is pushing it.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 02:37 PM
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So, will the plug-in Camry, Prius, and Fusion benefit from the tax credit too?


Also, it's not $10k off the price of the car, but $10k off your taxable income?
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 02:52 PM
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this is the way to solve a problem?!
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 08:36 PM
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Originally Posted by rominl
this is the way to solve a problem?!
A lot of people in politics, Henry, believe that money will solve any problem.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 10:27 PM
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Lol this is just sad. I really thought this car was going to be hit for some reason especially with all the press it had while in the development process.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 10:37 PM
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I heard this a couple of days ago and just shook my head.

All the fluff and stupid gm can't even sell the damn thing

"Chevy runs deep...........deep into the ground"
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 11:18 PM
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Originally Posted by PhilipMSPT
Also, it's not $10k off the price of the car, but $10k off your taxable income?
No - it's a credit, not a deduction, so the whole $7.5k comes directly off the tax liability. So if a person would have owed $7.5k in income tax, they will owe nothing after purchasing a Volt. As I understand it, it is a minimum liability credit unlike some other credits, so it is capped at a person's maximum tax liability (e.g., a person who owes 5k and gets the 7.5k Volt credit won't get a 2.5k refund; it'll only wipe out the 5k).

The worst part about it is that this is really subsidizing Government Motors, not the Volt. Typically businesses have to price their products to sell - i.e., rather than get a $10,000 subsidy to meet market demand, they would have to reduce the price by $10,000. Instead, Obama would rather have taxpayers foot the bill for poorly-conceived products. This is always the problem when government gets involved in business: Legislators can simply funnel taxpayer money to fund their own personal ideologies via these businesses under the guise of production, and this also has the additional destructive effect of totally throwing market forces out of whack.

Last edited by gengar; Feb 15, 2012 at 11:22 PM.
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 11:27 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
A lot of people in politics, Henry, believe that money will solve any problem.
interesting how government hasn't helped me solve ONE of my damn problems
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Old Feb 15, 2012 | 11:39 PM
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While the thread title singled out the Volt, the article said the credit would include Prius, Nissan Leaf, Fisker, Tesla and other plug-in electrics.

Not to worry though, this budget most likely won't pass.
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Old Feb 16, 2012 | 04:32 AM
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Originally Posted by adamls2
Lol this is just sad. I really thought this car was going to be hit for some reason especially with all the press it had while in the development process.
At around $25K, it would be a hit. $41K? Never gonna happen.

Originally Posted by rominl
interesting how government hasn't helped me solve ONE of my damn problems
Government rarely solves a problem. They do however, have a habit of creating them.

Originally Posted by LexBob2
While the thread title singled out the Volt, the article said the credit would include Prius, Nissan Leaf, Fisker, Tesla and other plug-in electrics.

Not to worry though, this budget most likely won't pass.
We all know the drive behind such a proposal. The administration wasn't thinking "Hmm, Toyota is having a hard time selling the Prius, better make a huge incentive". Saving the Volt is all that's on their mind here. They have too much stake in it.
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Old Feb 16, 2012 | 04:35 AM
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Originally Posted by LexBob2
While the thread title singled out the Volt, the article said the credit would include Prius, Nissan Leaf, Fisker, Tesla and other plug-in electrics.

Not to worry though, this budget most likely won't pass.
Thanks for the update. However the person who started the thread probaly should have added that from the very begin. It's very obvious what Obama is trying to do but at this point until gas is 10 dollars a gallon forget.
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Old Feb 16, 2012 | 05:14 AM
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Originally Posted by rogers2
Thanks for the update. However the person who started the thread probaly should have added that from the very begin. It's very obvious what Obama is trying to do but at this point until gas is 10 dollars a gallon forget.
See my previous post.


So what is he trying to do? Get more coal powered cars on the road? Is he not against building more plants? Is he not for Cap and Trade? He says he wants electricity to cost a fortune yet wants electric cars. Can you explain his logic?
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Old Feb 16, 2012 | 05:57 AM
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Tax credits on gas-electric hybrids (think Prius), and now plug-in electrics, as well as energy efficient doors, windows, furnaces, AC units etc. are nothing new. As mentioned not to worry as this budget won't be approved.
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Old Feb 16, 2012 | 11:14 AM
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The gov should stay out of trying to sell cars and car technology. The gov should stay out of propping up cars or any type of mismanage brands with our money. Let the free market decide what cars they want instead of the gov trying to up sell certain cars/technologies and imposing unrealistic FE standards.

Why don't they up the tax credit to 20 or 25K or just pay people to buy it, it is not like it is our money paying for this and we are 15 trillion in debt and counting.
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