Free Market EVs

With our government today, the title is an oxymoron.

We can’t have democracy in our country if we don’t have free speech. They go together.

We can’t have democracy in our country if we don’t have a free market. Expanding on that a minute, we can’t have democracy in our country without capitalism.

And capitalism works when the consumer markets are truly free, meaning thar consumers are free to choose the products they want to buy from at least several choices. Even better if there are multiple choices.

In a socialist society and economy, the government dictates the markets for just about everything. Our choices, if we have any at all in that kind of economy, are limited. That’s because the government decides what, where and when we can buy something we need or want.

In a socialist setup, the government takes over the production of goods and services. There can be no private ownership of anything. Everything belongs to the people they say, which means everything belongs to the government.

And since the government owns everything on behalf of the people, it has the responsibility of production, of manufacture on behalf of the people.

In America, capitalism has thrived, and so have the choices of the consumers. If you can build a better mousetrap, you’re likely to sell a lot of them.

That’s because we’ve had a free market. People are free to experiment, to innovate, to think about doing something new or enhanced that would appeal to the consumer.

The railroad companies built rails and trains to operate on them. They not only opened travel for greater distances for more people, but they also opened markets for more products. For example, railroads allowed cattle ranchers in Texas to then sell their beef more easily and in greater quantities to far-away, eastern markets.

Now comes President Biden. He and his administration decided from the get-go that because of global warming, we should drive all-electric cars or light trucks. They also decided that all vehicles must become electric by 2050. The Inflation Reduction Act provided for tax credits for EV buyers, and more billions for the generation of electricity. In addition, they raised the MPG requirements for combustion engine vehicles with the idea the regulation could not be done within the required timeframe, leaving EVs the only choice.

Putting aside for the moment that the probability is very low for solar and wind generated electricity can match that currently generated, this administration is entering the socialist ideology of the government taking over the world of car manufacturing and the goods available to consumers.

This is a first for our capitalistic society and economy and should scare the holy hell out of us.

The argument is the free market will not adequately address the issue of climate change on its own. That government intervention is necessary to incentivize industries to address these externalities. There are several problems that come with those arguments. First of all, consumers are not buying the prediction that what we’re experiencing is a prelude to Armageddon. Speculation abounds because every prediction around the seriousness of global warming in the past 30 years has failed to materialize. Ask China and India – they think in this crazed environment. Further, few consumers want an EV because of their weight, time to charge, range and reliability in cold weather. Manufacturers are reassessing the market, cutting back on planned production and laying off EV workers.

The statistics on emissions are estimated to be 24% of CO2 are from transport. Of those numbers, 45% is from passenger vehicles, 29% from freight, 12% from planes, 11% from shipping. The passenger vehicle emissions of CO2 translate to 45% of 24%, or 11%.

So, if we can believe the numbers, 11% of the total CO2 emissions come from cars and buses.

That’s the reason it’s supposedly justifiable for the government to require the elimination of our combustion engine vehicles. That means if we all drove an EV tomorrow, 11% of CO2 emissions would be eliminated in the U.S., not the world.

I know of no concrete, viable plan to eliminate CO2 emissions by 2050 for freight trucks, planes, trains and ships, even though making them all electric would cut emissions by another 12.5%. Further, 25% of CO2 emissions come from electrical generation plants. Frankly, there’s no viable plan to generate all of our needed electricity – current and future – by solar and wind.

The point is simple. The government moving to require every auto owner to buy an EV would put a very small dent in CO2 emissions. That’s not counting the unknown net CO2 emissions as a result of building a zillion batteries, So, why is our government doing it? Your speculation is as good as mine, but in all cases, it is not justified.

It’s obvious the Biden administration thinks that exerting control over the free market has no consequence for the consumer or the country. Or even if it does, they think it doesn’t matter. It’s for our own good, as ignorant as we in the proletariat are.

No one is opposed to limiting or even eliminating CO2 emissions. But getting there by government edict is the worst way for America to get there. Let’s use our short-term focus on cleaner fossil fuels instead.

We need to send a message.

Get out of the way and let the free market work its economic magic.

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Have a great and prosperous week.

Hug somebody.

References:

https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-transport

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions

SPIDER Bites

This week’s trivia question is: Fought in Virginia, what was the first major battle in the American Civil War? The answer to last week’s question re: Who was the scientist who alone filed 1,093 U.S. patents. Thomas Edison. A prolific inventor, Edison is credited for contributing to various inventions, including the phonograph, the kinetoscope, the Dictaphone, the electric lamp (in particular the incandescent light bulb), and the autographic printer. One of his major innovations was the first industrial research and development lab, which was built in Menlo Park at West Orange, NJ.

Iran attacked Israel overnight with drones and missiles. We’ll see how far this goes in the powder keg Middle East.

If you haven’t filed, tomorrow is the deadline for 2023 federal income tax.

California has raised their taxes to the point where anyone who can afford to leave is doing so. In their wisdom, the state has now instituted an exit tax supposedly to stop the exodus. Oh, and this tax is not on income, but net worth. That’ll discourage people from relocating, right? Meanwhile, the state is carrying a $68B deficit in expenditures over revenue on its $231B budget. It is a beautiful state with its Pacific coastline and natural beauty. It’s now also a political textbook on how to screw things up.

As U. of Iowa senior Caitlan Clark prepares to be the #1 draft choice in the WNBA, she will become the highest paid woman ever to play pro basketball. Her apparent commitment to excellence is contagious.

Europe’s top ‘human rights’ court ruled on Tuesday that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change, in a decision that will set a precedent for future climate lawsuits. The plaintiffs, all women over age 64, argued their (Swiss) government’s climate inaction put them at risk of dying during heat waves. If you don’t buy the ideology, now you’re “guilty.” So much for the so-called science. This kind of stuff is scary.

March numbers showed inflation rising 3.5% over a year ago and up from 3.2% in February. Relief for rising consumer spending for essentials is becoming a pipe dream. The President’s recently proposed fiscal 2025 budget carries a $3T deficit, oil is now selling for over $85/barrel with commensurate rising gas prices, and we’re supporting two wars – all by printing more money – all inflationary. The Federal Reserve has no choice but to keep interest rates high – and possibly raise them even more in the longer term if the government keeps spending money that we don’t have. Are we having fun yet? Does the WH have access to a real economist?

A persistent Biden administration announced last week it will forgive another $7.4B in student loans. SCOTUS found the previous proposed “forgiveness” unconstitutional, so the WH is trying to use a different statute. Bottom line – the President can’t spend money not appropriated by Congress. He can’t unilaterally make all of us pay for the college costs/loan contracts of a few.

One of football’s great running backs, O.J. Simpson, died last week. His 1995 trial set the stage for playing the race card often here.

“Who exactly has two years to save the world? The answer is every person on this planet.” That’s the quote from the UN’s climate chief on Friday. Well I guess we better hurry up or lose our lives. Some people apparently believe him and other ‘wolf’ criers.