Posted by Joseph Y. Calhoun, III

According to this WSJ story, the cash for clunkers program is having some difficulties. Dealers are not being reimbursed on time:

The Obama administration eased the rules of its “cash for clunkers” program Thursday, saying it would let consumers order autos that dealers don’t have in stock.

It also tried to reassure dealers who say the government isn’t reimbursing them on time.

Thursday’s efforts represent the administration’s latest on-the-fly fixes to its month-old Car Allowance Rebate System, which gives consumers who trade in low-gas-mileage cars a $3,500 or $4,500 credit on a new one.

The plan’s popularity, plus confusion among dealers over its rules, has contributed to administrative gridlock. The Department of Transportation, which runs the program through its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, indicated to auto dealers Thursday that it would add staff to address the backlog of unpaid applications for clunker vouchers.

Ah, yes government efficiency. Smooth as corduroy. Runs like a well oiled otter. Coordinated like Amy Winehouse at 3 AM.

But dealers say payments have been slow to arrive. “We’ve got 155 clunkers on the ground and no money in the bank,” says Earl Stewart, owner of the Earl Stewart Toyota dealership in North Palm Beach, Fla. “We’re selling ourselves into a very negative cash-flow situation.”

With dealers on average earning about $1,000 on a new-car sale, most face a loss on each transaction until the government pays up. Mr. Stewart says the government owes him $672,700 in rebates and hasn’t paid any. “The more cars I sell, the worse it gets.”

Just hold your horses there fellow. Gotta cross all the Is and dot all the Ts:

The Transportation Department blames delays in part to dealers submitting incomplete applications. More than half are returned to dealers for more information or rejected outright.

“It would be illegal for the DOT to pay a transaction” that hasn’t met the requirements, the administration official said.

In many instances, the official said, dealers haven’t submitted documentation that the vehicle was insured continuously for a year, as required. In others, dealers failed to write “Junk Automobile” on the title of the trade-in, a step necessary to prevent fraud.

We had a term for this in the Navy - clusterf**k. Or SNAFU works too. I think we should immediately turn over more sectors to government control so we can increase paper production and create even more jobs.