Anna Shaff writes an op-ed in today’s Washington Post on how she’s being punished by acting fiscally responsibly her whole life, and now not eligible for the clunkers giveaway. An excerpt:

As I followed the recent debate about refueling the clunkers program, it occurred to me that whereas for me Barack Obama can do no wrong, this time his reasoning is simply indecipherable.
Yes, I know that the car industry must be revived, towing the economy in its wake. And I know the planet must be saved, partly by offerings of newly crunched, formerly inefficient automobile engines.
But what about the message that is being conveyed by the methodology? It is this: If you have been so socially irresponsible or economically privileged that you bought a Hummer, an SUV or, for that matter, anything on four wheels that averages below 18 mpg within the past ozone-depleting decade (or, innocently, during the 15 years before that), you get a second chance. You get to dump that car, even if you purchased it during cash-guzzling gas prices or red alerts about a depleted planet. You win the brass ring for social disengagement and lack of foresight.
If, on the other hand, you have scrimped and saved and made do for the sake of greater priorities, you draw a dunce cap.
So this dunce sits, contemplating our topsy-turvy values, as streams of televised clunkers flow through car dealerships. I haven’t visited a dealership in 24 years. And an innovative new administration notwithstanding, I’m not likely to visit one anytime soon.