Hybrids
and Biofuels: Forget the Politicians?
Wednesday,
April 25, 2007
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.
posted
by Dahcredyns at
|
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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