Op-Ed: ‘Cash for kitchens’ can’t save our planet or economy

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Coming this holiday season is yet another economic stimulus program. Riding on the heels of the cash for clunkers’ so-called success, the cash-for-appliances program is set to do for Sears, Lowes and Home Depot what clunkers did for Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. Have you had your eye on a new refrigerator or dishwasher for a while? Are you hankering after that bright orange washer and dryer set? Well $300 million stimulus dollars later, the federal government is about to make your wish come true … sort of.

The two biggest problems with this program — which will be run by the states — are that you are not required to turn in your old appliances to get the federal rebate, and you are not required to recycle said appliances. Although many stores do offer to take your old appliances away and dispose of them, they’re not required by law to recycle your half-dead dryer.

The basis of this program is about saving energy over the long-term by encouraging Americans to use more efficient devices in all aspects of their lives. Still, I can’t see why the proponents of this program aren’t making recycling one of its major selling points. When it comes to refrigerators, there is a lot of pollution potential, considering the scale of disposal. By not requiring you to turn in your old appliances, the energy savings could go down the toilet if people don’t responsibly dispose of their old fridges.

Will this next round of federal incentives do the same thing to used appliance stores that cash for clunkers did to the used auto industry? I also have to question what sort of impact this massive change-out will do to landfills. This is America after all. We make the most garbage in the world — about five pounds per person per day. The only people who will never lose their jobs in this country are the garbage men.

Initial estimates forecasted federal rebates of up to $200 for certain appliances, but with Maine set to receive just $1.2 million dollars — that’s one dollar for every person living in this state — the rebates within Maine’s borders are only expected to reach $75 for a top of the line fridge, down to just $25 for air conditioners. Is it possible retailers will have to push their holiday sales even further in order to encourage people to take advantage of not just the federally funded handout but their own as well? The good news is the program will probably allow piggybacking. This means if the fridge of your dreams has a $100 rebate at Sears, you can still get the additional $75 federal rebate on top of that.

Another problem with the program is that it isn’t being implemented at a national level. After applying for funds, each state would be responsible for writing its own plan for implementation of the program. State officials have only until Oct. 15 to submit their proposal to the federal government for review. In light of the patchwork quilt that is local and state governments overlapping with federal guidelines, is it necessary to add another layer of mismatch? Why didn’t the federal government just take charge of this program too?

This whole thing has got me wondering: If we stimulate the economy by encouraging people to buy more efficient vehicles and appliances and the economy doesn’t recover in the foreseeable future, will we get to a point in which we’ve all bought so many new things and are living so efficiently that consumer spending will collapse even further? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for saving people money and reducing energy use. But I can’t help wondering how long it will be before we run out of things to stimulate.

Jennifer Fortier hopes her landlord will take advantage of the rebate and replace her refrigerator.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009, 1:17 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.