Free Golf Carts, Paid for By Uncle Sam!

By: Bob Barney

You read that headline correctly, first we had "cash for clunkers,"  now it's cash for golf carts.  the sorry fact of the matter is that our government is actually giving more money to buy a golf cart than it did for consumers to buy brand-new cars in their "cash for clunkers," program this past summer. Car buyers had to turn in an old car to get a $4500 stimulus credit in order to buy a brand-new "approved" car, whereas those wanting to buy golf carts, get up to a $5300 stimulus credit for buying Uncle Sam calls "Street legal electric vehicles." Similar to the Cash For Clunkers Program, the US government is giving a 2009 tax credit of $5300.00 for a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) aka "green" car. If you buy the golf cart smart, you could own it for practically nothing.

The $838 billion economic stimulus bill that passed the Senate back in February, contained $300 million for the government to purchase a fleet of "green" cars. The cash could also be used to purchase "neighborhood electric vehicles".

A Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) is a battery electric vehicle falling under United States Department of Transportation classification for low-speed vehicles. The NEV operates by plugging into a standard outlet at home. By using solar or wind power to generate the electricity for these vehicles, they have the potential to run using no fossil fuel.  One can only wonder how many unemployed workers, or nearly bankrupt homeowners can afford these new NEV vehicles. That's the stimulus package for you!

The top speed of these electric cars is only about 25 mph, and are solely intended for golf cart use, or minor road traffic. This is clearly a loophole provided by some politician, on the take from some special interest group; in this case the golf cart industry. This is the type of nonsense we get when we allow Uncle Sam to run our economy. God help us all if we are stupid enough to allow them to run our health care system.

The Wall Street Journal says, "In South Carolina, sales of these carts have been soaring as dealerships alert customers to Uncle Sam’s giveaway. “The Golf Cart Man” in the Villages of Lady Lake, Florida is running a banner online ad that declares: “GET A FREE GOLF CART. Or make $2,000 doing absolutely nothing!”

Stand in line. These electric cars are going fast.

See the video Get a 2009 Tax Credit for Neighborhood Electric Vehicles for a quick look at these neat little "green" cars.