Zapatero’s government and few other actors will subsidy a purchase of a car in Spain with 2000 euros (news here (Yahoo)). I already have a car, but if i didn’t I would be very much tempted to buy one. I don’t know all the details of the deal, but it sounds to me that if you get a discount of 2000 euros it is something worth looking into, especially since I would buy one of the tiny ones, a.k.a cheaper ones (I understood the discount is the same no matter which kind of car you buy). From a consumers point of view it all sounds very nice, especially if you have you have the cash to pay the remaining part of the price.
On a more meaningful level, I wonder if this new policy is really the right way to go. I suppose the grand idea behind the plan is to save the jobs of the industry etc. In general there is nothing wrong with that, I just think the money could be spent better: instead of just giving it away it might be directed toward retraining of the people or in creating new opportunities or social safety nets when/if things get really bad. Overall the policy reminds me of the one made few years ago in order to increase birth rates; the government promised 2500€ for every new born baby. That is just fine, but as most parents commented, the problems lie ahead. There is lack of daycare places, the working hours are problematic not to mention the challenges that lie in combining work and family life. In the end of the day, the 2500 euros might not help you that much. The same goes for the 2000 euros: it seems questionable whether the subsidy will be able to save the jobs after all.
Putting economics aside, the other issue is the environment. On my opinion it all comes down to the question on whether purchasing a new car can be seen as an environmentally friendly act? My own intuitive response is no, but I suppose if we forget the production “costs” (how much of all sorts of resources does it take to product a car) and assume that the buyer already has a car,well, the question becomes at least one worth asking. If an old car, which consumes a lot of gasoline and pollutes even more, is changed into a new one that uses very little petrol and has all the high tech parts for polluting less, will the environment benefit? That again depends on what happens to the old one. Does it get recycled or will it replace an even older one that gets recycled? Or will there be just another car more on the road?
To me it seems likely that the ones who will take advantage of this offer are the ones who possess a certain level of welfare, and thus, already own a car that is reasonably new (you dont see too many poor people buying new cars at the time of a crisis). This again means that the difference in energy efficiency etc. might not be that great between the current car and the new one. Furthermore, since the current car is actually relatively new, it means that the current car will not be thrashed and recycled, but will be in any case kept in the road, no matter if sold or not. Naturally it is possible that the one who buys the current car will thrash his/hers even older one, but then again the difference on eco-friendliness is no longer that great.
The thing is, that at the same time as giving subsidies to buy a new car, “they (Zapatero’s government) included a reduction in taxes for small businesses and a 20-billion-euro fund to finance sustainable development projects”. I suppose the most important aim of these acts is to revitalize economy, but isn’t there something funny that at the same time you try to sell more cars and establish a fund aimed to protect the environment? I mean you establish a 20-billion-euro fund to make things more green, and at the same time you put lots of money in order to make things less green: “Lets really break things now so we have a lot more to fix later on”. Or maybe it is just that breaking and fixing are equally good, both mean jobs and boost for the economy. On the environmental side the question remains the same though, but if buying a new car is seen as environmentally friendly (?), then there is no problem. Furthermore, then I would really like to have that new car. Just miss the remaining part of the price.
