|
What's
the problem? Congress, hybrid cars and clean vehicle tax
credits
Friday,
February 2, 2007
Is
Bush more green than Congress?
President Bush is certainly not going to win any awards
for being the greenest President. Still, for at least 6
months the President has asked Congress to extend tax
credits for hybrid vehicles. Yet, Congress has done
nothing.
Sure, GM and DaimlerChrysler have not sold any full hybrid
vehicles and are sitting on more than 100,000 full tax
credits, while Toyota has already used every full tax
credit. So, why should Congress do something that only
benefits Toyota?
Because foreign oil dependency and global warming demand
action now, not tomorrow, and not after a global warming
committee is formed. NOW. Members of Congress have talked
a lot of tough talk regarding global warming and foreign
oil dependency, but they've taken very little real action.
Power to the People
Raise fuel economy by raising CAFE, Congress tells us.
Fine. Do it. Automakers, however, will still need
financial incentives. So, why not get started right now?
Extend and uncap the tax credits for hybrid
cars, and put those financial incentives into the
hands of consumers, rather than executives more beholden
to shareholders than to citizens and to consumers.
Already Toyota's hybrid success has completely changed the
thinking of all automakers, and Toyota's continued hybrid
success will change the actions of all automakers - at
least those planning to survive into the future.
What was a joke just a few years ago to GM and other
automakers, is now the buzz of the auto world. More
important, it's the buzz of the consumer world and by
putting consumers largely in charge, automakers will have
to compete for incentives, rather than just having those
incentives handed to them. Quite simply, those with the
best products win.
It's a gas, gas, gas tax
Instead of mocking Toyota, if every automaker had been as
aggressive as Toyota regarding hybrids, millions of hybrid
sales per year could have been possible before the decade
was over. Still, if tax credits are extended, Toyota might
yet achieve yearly hybrid sales of more than a million
hybrids alone before the end of the decade.
And, ultimately, nothing can exert more healthy pressure
on other automakers than good old competition.
Besides, there is a perfect way to fund the hybrid
revolution - a gas
tax.
Tax gasoline and petroleum-based fuels and use the tax
revenues to fund clean vehicle tax credits. Not only would
such a tax make hybrid vehicles more accessible to
consumers, it would make alternative fuels more
cost-effective. More important, it would force consumers,
not just automakers, to make better choices and to take
more responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
Ultimately, Congress cannot just blame automakers and tax
oil companies. At some point, consumers must be involved.
Actually, consumers shouldn't just get involved, they
should lead the clean vehicle revolution, and nothing
would make it easier for consumers to take action than tax
credits and a gasoline tax.
Reward positive actions. Punish negative actions.
This is something Congress can take action on today,
without lengthy global warming committee discussions. We
already know that foreign oil dependency and global
warming will ultimately cost America 100's of billions, if
not trillions, of dollars.
So, what's the problem?
posted
by Dahcredyns at
|
