Government Motors

I was driving to Columbus, OH today and sat behind a late-model Chevy minivan with government plates.  Not two miles later I went by a truck that looked like it was hauling crushed cars from the Cash for Clunkers program.  That got me thinking…why not have government employees drive the clunkers?  

According to an article by the the Huffington Report, the US government vehicle fleet includes over 642,000 cars and costs taxpayers $3.4 BILLION per year!  I wonder how much less it would cost to keep all those clunkers on the road?  Could it be done for less than $5,295 per vehicle per year? 

Some will say that the point was to reduce oil use and emissions by getting clunkers off the road.  When the police confiscate a drug dealer’s car, they trick it out and turn it into a “DARE” vehicle.  We could do the same with the clunkers.  Can you imagine driving by one with “your tax dollars at work” emblazoned on the side of it?  I’m guessing that fewer bureaucrats would be lining up at the motor pool.  As a result, we’d have fewer vehicles on the road, spend less, and be kinder to the environment. 

But then again, how could the government save GM if it didn’t buy all those new fleet cars?  I guess I’ll have to call my elected officials and ask them.  No wait, they’ve already come up with an answer…a 60 day money back guarantee.  Desperation is sinking in.