Kars for kidz

On various Boston radio-shows, they play an advertisement for a children's charity: donate your car to the charity, then they will sell it for whatever they can get for it. "Kars for Kidz." The reality is that you only get to deduct the actual sales price, not some arbitrary fair market value ... so it is not quite as good a deal as it sounds. Their incentive is to move the vehicle for what they can get, not what it is actually worth -- so you can get screwed.

So, I was driving while listening to the jingle, "call 1-800 kars for kidz, K - A - R - S, kars for kidz ..." My soon-to-be 16 year old son turned to ask me, "do you suppose they could get me a Porsche?" Well, in the abstract, it was ambiguous as to what the purpose of donating a car was ... did they give the cars they received to kids? Was this some teenager's fantasy? My son did know the real purpose, but as a piece of humor it was pretty good.

The trouble with this topic is that Governor Devoid of any Sense Patrick of the Commonwealth of Massholes thinks that it is a good idea to take my son's idea literally. So, if you are a low income or welfare family and can make the argument that you need a car to get to work or find a job, Cadillac Patrick might just be able to provide one for you. By the way, there is meant to be a budgetary crisis at the State House on Beacon Hill right now.

You see, under Cadillac Patrick's rule, we fund a rare beast called "The State Department of Transportational Assistance." It gives out about 65 cars a year. Even better, the State covers insurance, maintenance, fuel and ... AAA membership. A Lutheran Charity provides the cars (what basis do the donors get in tax deduction I wonder, since there is no real "sale" per IRS guidelines?), and then does the maintenance ... billing the State. No fools in those Lutheran charities.... The estimated cost per year per car? $6,000.

And if you lose that job for which you depended on your car ... you get to keep the car, but lose the other benefits, such as AAA, insurance, taxes and fuel. So you have another uninsured motorist swanning about the State.

People keep on suggesting that Deval might make a good Supreme Court Justice, notwithstanding that the Archdeacon of Conservativism Alan Dershowitz thinks it would be a disaster ... "Patrick's not even a good lawyer."

Our nation is starting to resemble Zimbabwe ... as Barry Obama picks the pockets of Chrysler bondholders to feather the beds of the UAW. Redistribute the wealth to your backers, cronies and footsoldiers.