UPDATE4: The “Cash for Clunkers” bill, now formally known as the “Car Allowance Rebate System” (CARS), was signed into law by President Obama yesterday.

For a quick “5 important things to know” about the initiative,  the program’s official website, CARS.gov, offers these points:

• Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
• Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify
• Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
• Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
• You don’t need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase

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Nearly every critic of the president’s Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ERRA — the latest stimulus package) argued that the bill was far too expensive and would not promptly impact the economy. Others argued that the stimulus wasn’t big enough.

The Wall Street Journal’s blog ‘Real Time Economics’ brought two economists together with opposing views on the subject to present their arguments.

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