From my McClatchy editorial, out for national distribution this week, here is a link to the version in today's Sacramento Bee:
Using taxpayer dollars to favor one automotive technology over another is contrary to the free-market principles that undergird our economy. Simply put, subsidizing electric vehicles doesn't make economic sense.
The surest way to guarantee a product's failure is to subsidize it. Over time, cars that succeeded in the marketplace have been those that were developed and commercialized without government involvement. If a technology isn't capable of succeeding on its own economic merits, there's no amount of taxpayer support that will ever make it a commercial success."
i'm sure you're equally opposed to the $8.33 billion in federal loan guarantees for construction of the Vogtle nuclear plant near augusta, georgia...
ReplyDeletei'm sure you're equally opposed to the $8.33 billion in federal loan guarantees for construction of the Vogtle nuclear plant near augusta, georgia...
ReplyDeleteWell, why wouldn't be be against it?
Or, are you accusing him of dishonesty? Subsidies are subsidies. Given Obama's track record, I should fully expect the Vogtle project to promptly declare bankruptcy.
Based on logic and the last 1/2 century or so, I don't think you can compare subsidies to nuclear power plants and electric vehicles in a simple apples to apples manner. In the case of electric vehicles, there is no real credible enemy of the industry, so there is little, if any, threat of litigation risk from non-users of the products. For the nuclear power industry, the opposite is true. Environmentalists and other opponents of nuclear power have driven the costs of construction and sure-to-come litigation to levels that few, if any, private parties could risk the expenses of constructing a new nuclear power plant without a gov't guarantee of sharing the risks. Add the this the fact that any Democrat administration, the biggest enemy of all, is likely to abruptly throw any nuclear power under the bus at any time by simply regulating any plant, and especially one under construction, into non-existence. As a private business, it does not make sense to make the long-term significant investment into a new nuclear power plant without without a healthy addition of gov't money; money that will at least dissuade a future hostile administration from shutting it down before it can show a profit.
ReplyDeletejcarroll1948: "As a private business, it does not make sense to make the long-term significant investment into a new nuclear power plant without without a healthy addition of gov't money; money that will at least dissuade a future hostile administration from shutting it down before it can show a profit."
ReplyDeleteAre you accusing future administrations of applying economic logic? :)
who gains from these subsidies? clearly the big corporations wealthy liberals love to hate. but also the wealthy liberals themselves, who are most likely to buy the subsidized cars so that they can show off their green creds through conspicuous conservation. oh, where oh where is occupy wall street when you need them? (queuing up for subsidized electric cars probably)
ReplyDelete