LETTER: Clunkers program defended

In a recent letter the government's "clunkers program" was financially analyzed in a discussion about President Obama's report card and concluded it was a waste of money. Unfortunately the analysis must get an "incomplete." It failed to consider intangible benefits such as improvement in air quality - perhaps not as much of an issue in South Carolina as in California. Bad air - smog - kills people.

The attempt at analysis also neglected to mention the reduction of greenhouse gases. When the earth warms up, we may all be killed. The same approach was taken with respect to health care reform - "Think of the cost." Typical of conservatives, everything gets debated in terms of dollars and cents with no consideration of the impact on the quality of life, no hint of compassion for the less fortunate.

The clunkers program improved air quality and reduced the causes of global climate warming. These are hard to quantify - but that is not a license to ignore them.

Lester C. Welch

Aiken