Mel and I have previously reported on the ridiculous subsidies and tax breaks Obama has offered to promote purchases of electric cars.
Here is an update on the latest batch of related hubris and silliness from Washington.
The latest analysis by Peter Whoriskey of the Washington Post shows that the prices for the Nissan Leaf ( $32,780 ) and Chevy Volt ( $41,000 ) are "well above" those of comparably sized cars with gasoline engines. Most of which cost around $20,000.
The $7500 bribe , oops !, I mean SUBSIDY , to buy a Leaf or Volt was originally limited to the first 250,000 such cars. Under the Obama Porkulus package it was expanded to 200,000 per manufacturer ; i.e. 400,000. Senator Carl Levin and his brother, Congressman Sander Levin ( both from the home of economic "innovations" - Michigan ) have the brilliant idea of accelerating prosperity ( which is "right around the corner" ) by proposing to make this bribery program even MORE expensive. The Levins want to more than double down on the current bribery program by having it apply to 500,000 cars per manufacturer. As George Will points out in his recent column, they are responding in classic Liberal style to proven failure and ineffectiveness. They want "MORE ".
The Levins want all taxpayers to subsidize purchases for a fortunate few i.e. those who can afford $41,000 cars. As Whoriskey reports, early adopters of a new kind of car tend to be affluent. I thought Democrats liked things progressive and not regressive , which this program certainly is.
The Electrification Coalition is pushing this and other programs in the name of "economic and national security". Members of the Coalition include Nissan's CEO , Carlos Ghosn and the lovely and talented Jeff Immeldt, GE's CEO and now chairman of Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Not content with running GE into the ground, Immeldt has set his sights on the country as a whole.
Among other nonsense, the Coalition says that electric cars will free us from dependence on foreign oil from "unstable and hostile regions". As I have pointed out in related threads, we get most of our imported oil from Mexico and Canada.
Btw, the Levins are opposed to drilling in ANWR among other places too supposedly sacrosanct for sensible and safe development.
In the overall Federal budgetary scheme of things the Levins proposed expansion of the auto bribery program is relatively small potatoes : $19 billion over 10 years but Sander Levin says that " means that the program worked." Of course, if you pay folks enough, they will do all sorts of otherwise irrational things they would normally not be inclined to do. They are also admitting that the Leaf and Volt would almost certainly fail in an unrigged market. The problem is that it is both symptomatic and emblematic of a government that refuses to let its failures promote caution about further meddling with what ought to be a free market.
In his SOTU speech Obama made it clear, he wants more of these "innovations". Like EXPANSION of the ethanol subsidy which has already seriously affected wheat farming and thus bread prices in several countries including Tunisia and Egypt.
Another government "innovation" that really turned out great was the "No Money Down" sub-prime mortgage. We're now entering our sixth year of declining housing prices. At least another 10% decline is expected. We have 5 million borrowers at least two months delinquent on their mortgages. Obama's "innovative" Mortgage Modification program fizzled. We have another 5 million households where the mortgage is at least 20% larger than the market value of the home. We had 1 million foreclosures last year. Who thinks we will have fewer this year ?
Shouldn't these successful ( ? ) "innovations" be kept in mind before we seek new ways for our Federal government to innovate ?



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