When I was in college, I purchased my first car my senior year. It was a 1989 Subaru DL and I was purchasing it in 1998. The air condition worked only certain days of the week and if my friends and my brother sat in the back seat, the bottom of the car scrapped the ground when I turned corners. I had to keep transmission fluid with me because it leaked that too! I was thankful for that car though, because it allowed me to get to work and to Dallas to see my family. Yes, I risked driving it to Dallas! If I could have afforded a better car I would have bought one, but I couldn’t.

I recently heard about the plans in the state of Texas to provide vouchers for pre-1996 vehicles. According to the Houston Chronicle,

“By the end of the year, the state will begin offering up to $3,500 in vouchers to replace pre-1996 vehicles, some of the heaviest polluters on the roads.

The program will be available in 14 Texas counties surrounding the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston areas, as well as Travis and Williamson counties.

Owners who agree to ‘retire’ their vehicles will get $3,000 vouchers that can be used toward buying a new car or truck or a late-model used vehicle. If they opt to buy a hybrid, they can get $3,500. The program is voluntary.“

On the surface it sounds like a good idea right? It seems like the intent is to help the poor get a new vehicle and fight pollution all at the same time. This is not what will happen though. Once again, hard working Texans are being slapped in the face. What do you get when you work hard to make ends meet so you can drive a dependable car to get to and from work, you don’t get anything. On the other hand, if you have a old beat-up car, the state will give you up to 3,500 towards the purchase of a new vehicle.

I have a news flash for the brilliant legislators that have come up with this idea…if a person can afford a newer car, they will buy one. When you give vouchers to purchase new cars to people who couldn’t afford anything more than what they had, you simply contribute to the repo population. I do not think the intent is wrong, but the methodology will not work.

The goal should be to provide these individuals with post 1996 running vehicles. My truck is a 1999 and it runs great. Why not use that money to ensure that they have vehicles that pass the emissions tests. Isn’t the point of the test to ensure that a vehicle does not over pollute the air? If I would have known they were going to give vouchers, I would have purposely bought a vehicle pre 1996 and used the voucher money to buy what ever vehicle I wanted!

If you think my thought process is morally wrong, think again. This is exactly what will happen if they begin this program. The wealthy will be able to purchase pre-1996 vehicles from their connections for $1,000 or less and make an extra $2,500 dollars when they sell to the state so they can purchase a hybrid. I would like to thank the State of Texas for solving the whole “no down payment” issue for me when I go to purchase a new vehicle now. I do have my eyes on that new four door jeep!