Hybrids and Biofuels: Forget the Politicians?
Does it really matter which Party is in control?If you ask me, competition works better than politicians. I'm not saying competition works perfectly, but it works better than a bunch of rich, special interest-funded partisan politicians.
Consequently, I've been very bothered that Congress has not extended Toyota's hybrid tax credits - something both Republicans and Democrats have ignored. Yet, in the last couple of years, both parties have talked considerably about energy dependence, especially foreign oil dependence and/or global warming. Yet, very little has been accomplished to alleviate these problems.
Obviously, the task is not simple. Still, it seems to me that the quickest way to make automakers deal with fuel efficiency is simple competition. Force them to act or risk losing customers.
Thus, the more success Toyota has selling hybrid vehicles, the more pressure there is.....Finish Hybrids and Biofuels: Forget the Politicians.
Labels: biofuels, Congress, Ethanol, Foreign Oil Dependency, global warming, Hybrid Vehicles, tax credits
posted by Dahcredyns at
10:00 AM
4 Comments:
(Complete story)
Does it really matter which Party is in control?
If you ask me, competition works better than politicians. I'm not saying competition works perfectly, but it works better than a bunch of rich, special interest-funded partisan politicians.
Consequently, I've been very bothered that Congress has not extended Toyota's hybrid tax credits - something both Republicans and Democrats have ignored. Yet, in the last couple of years, both parties have talked considerably about energy dependence, especially foreign oil dependence and/or global warming. Yet, very little has been accomplished to alleviate these problems.
Obviously, the task is not simple. Still, it seems to me that the quickest way to make automakers deal with fuel efficiency is simple competition. Force them to act or risk losing customers.
Thus, the more success Toyota has selling hybrid vehicles, the more pressure there is on the rest of automakers to develop hybrids, or some other alternative. And whether your focus is global warming or foreign oil dependency, we can't act quick enough. Automakers need to act now, not 3 years from now, and extending Toyota's tax credits will make automakers move much faster.
Yes, such a move might hurt U.S. automakers, and I am sad about that, but I'm also extremely disappointed that Detroit hasn't had more vision when it comes to the real dangers of poor fuel economy. So, either find a new path now, or perish. Foreign oil dependency and global warming are simply more important than protecting irrelevant, disillusioned, and innovativeless auto companies.
Of course politicians continue to talk, talk, talk about how to fix these problems. Still, nothing real has been accomplished, and since politicians seem to now focus about 90 percent of their time on reelection and about 10 percent of their time on legislation, I guess the public shouldn't be too surprised at the lack of results coming out of Congress.
Even worse, it isn't just hybrid technology being limited by Congress.
Because of subsidies driven by decades of lobbying, alternative fuels aren't all playing on a level playing field. While corn-based ethanol is bloated with subsidies, other bio-fuel technologies, such as microbial-based fuels are stymied by a lack of subsidies. Yet, many of these alternatives, such as microbes, could be better solutions. (BusinessWeek)
I say we put more power in the hands of people. Make clean vehicle tax credits either unlimited for a couple of years, or let consumers use them first come, first serve. Dispensing them by manufacturer has only stymied competition. Toyota is selling hundreds of thousands of hybrids per year, both GM and Chrysler have yet to sell one full hybrid vehicle. That's unacceptable.
Perhaps even better, let's fund these tax credits with a gas tax. Use the revenue from the tax credit solely to fund clean vehicle tax credits for consumers, such as the hybrid vehicle tax credit. Additionally, bio-fuels would be exempt from this tax - making them more cost-effective without being subsidized by special interest beholden politicians.
Tax Credits are just PR. REALIZED tax credits are more of an issue because the AMT eliminated the credit for many people (like me). Forget the credits, because the government IS going to get your money, one way or another. The income tax games only justify the lobbyist's job.
Tax directly if you want impact, which means heavy gas taxes. The more you distort actual costs (which vaporware income tax credits do) the less effective the impact. Higher gas prices via higher gas taxes is enough encouragement for fuel economy.
I don't necessarily disagree with you regarding the tax credits - at least if the AMT is involved. Nonetheless, the credit still helps many afford hybrids.
Still, a government-imposed gas tax is pretty much a fantasy - I don't think there are more than a handful of elected politicians whom would truly support the idea.
Thus, I wish for a clean tax credit for everyone AND a gas tax.
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