So the “cash for clunkers” ran out.

I sympathize with car dealers who didn't get a shot at the money, but — If anything, the only obvious bad news here for the country is about what might have been:  It turns out that the government could have offered $2,500 to $3,500 instead of $3,500 to $4,500 per vehicle, and people would probably still have bought a bunch of cars, more of them for the money budgeted, and maybe a little more slowly.

The success of this voucher program makes me wonder if perhaps voucher-type programs should have been tried sooner.  A lot sooner.   Vouchers in general strike me as a good compromise that combines government funding and assistance with market freedom.