Kicking the can down the street seems to be a popular pastime among politicians who make big promises, scary future predictions, then move to solve a problem with ramifications coming long after they’re in office. That certainly seems to sum up President Biden’s modified adoption of the EPA’s defacto EV mandate for Americans.
The EPA has been going after car modifications with vigor.
Biden will never have to deal with the full consequences of his decisions, at least not as President of the United States. It’s highly likely he won’t even be alive by the time the full ramifications of the EPA tailpipe emissions regulations take hold in 2032.
Centralized economic planning has a horrendous track record, from the USSR forward, economies which in part and most especially in whole decided to let a central planning committee like the EPA decide the direction something as critical as personal transportation options have reaped the whirlwind.
It’s obvious a large portion of the US population isn’t interested in owning an EV. Yet out of those who have them, it’s even more astounding the number who instead of wanting to grant freedom to those who are dedicated to “dinosaur” cars will instead applaud the government for using an iron fist to force adoption.
Some are calling the new EPA rule a compromise, but it is in fact not. While it does slow down the aggressive march of emissions restrictions for 2027 to 2029, by 2032 we get the same crushing blow to the auto industry and consumers as what the EPA originally proposed.
It might be even worse, as EPA Administrator Michael Regan was quoted by the AP as saying: “Let me be clear: Our final rule delivers the same, if not more, pollution reduction than we set out in our proposal.”
The result of administrative law in action will have profound effects on the US economy, and not in the positive. While the EPA and others celebrate this move, it’s more like applauding the captain of the Titanic for not steering clear of the iceberg.
Image via Hyundai
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