Rep. Cynthia Davis (R-O’Fallon) is at it once again. (hat tip to Randy Turner for the scoop.) Bragging about her participation in a recent Cato Institute Conference on Poverty in sunny San Diego, she remarked that the Cash for Clunkers program actually hurts the poor by restricting the amount of older, inefficient cars available for low-income Americans to purchase.

Actually, Cash for Clunkers allows low-income Americans incentives for trading in an older car that’s more expensive to operate (higher fuel costs) for a newer, more efficient one that can be driven more cheaply and more reliably. Purchases of the more efficient cars are helping to keep auto factories open and employing local workers, which in turn helps to keep local economies afloat. And putting newer, more efficient cars into circulation now will also put them within reach of low income Americans now and into the future.

Sounds like a good deal for Americans to me.