Cash for Clunkers: Leaving the Garage, Entering the Home

The Obama administration has signaled it will be announcing a plan to phase out the Cash for Clunkers program, but that doesn't mean the flow of taxpayer-funded government "rebates" will stop anytime soon. As if we haven't given out enough handouts or artificially inflated the economy enough, the Wall Street Journal reports:

Appliance manufacturers are counting on a "cash for clunkers"-type rebate program to revive slumping sales of refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers.
Beginning late this fall, federal rebates will be available for purchasers of high-efficiency household appliances, furnaces and air-conditioning systems. Congress authorized $300 million for the program earlier this year as part of the federal economic-stimulus bill.
After seeing the recent surge in new-car orders attributed to the federally funded clunkers program, appliance industry executives are hoping to lure consumers back into appliance store showrooms with rebates that are expected to reach $200 on some types of appliances.

So if you had any doubts, Obama really does means it when he says we'll spend our way out of the recession. We'll dig ourselves into deeper debt, maybe borrow more from China or just print some more money to give to people to go out and by washing machines and refrigerators?! Hm, I wonder who will really benefit most from this ridiculous policy... oh, yeah: GE! This is absurd.