Obamacare on Wheels

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Ferrari just reported a third quarter sales sales uptick of nearly 11 percent, which it attributes to demand for its V8 powered Portofino. Sales of the V12 Superfast rose 7.9 percent. The best-selling three cars in the U.S. are big trucks – the Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram 1500. These are not being produced at bayonet-point, via mandates – and the people buying them don’t need their palms greased as inducements to buy them.

Contrast this with the sales of electric cars so far this year  – of which there were none.

A number of them did change hands, it’s true. But to describe the exchange as a “sale” is to abuse the language, akin to referring to Bruce as “her.”

Each one must be given away at a net loss. This includes most especially the Tesla3, which the company falsely proclaims is “selling” well. Tesla is taking in money, perhaps. In the manner of Tony Soprano.

But it is not making money selling cars.

Not if you exclude the money paid to Tesla by its enforcer, the government – or the money which others are forced to pay the government but which the government so generously exempts Tesla from paying. These latter – the various “tax breaks” received by the “buyers” of Teslas and other EVs – are considered by some to be innocuous, even desirable because (so the argument goes) the government is simply refraining from taking.

The problem is that the government still takes from others and by doing that – but not doing it to others – the government is advantaging the one at the expense of the other. It is analogous to your neighbor being exempted from being forced to pay the property tax on his home. Meanwhile, you have to pay – and probably pay a bit more – in order to make up the shortfall.

Your neighbor gets to build an addition to his place.

It is hard to divine the full extent of the EV’s plugging-in to other people’s pockets, but we can get a general idea:

“Zero emissions”/Carbon Credits – This is a payment made by a manufacturer of standard cars to the manufacturer of electric cars in order to avoid having to actually make electric cars. The buyer gets credit for not making them  . . . in exchange for cash.

It is an extorted payment, made under duress, to comply with “zero emissions” production mandates, which require every company selling cars in that state to sell a certain number of “zero emissions” electric cars or else be denied permission to sell any cars whatsoever in that state.

California has had such a mandate in place for years and it has been used by  Tesla to subsidize its otherwise not-viable business with the money earned by viable businesses. If the carbon credit system did not exist, Tesla would probably not exist – or would have folded years ago.

Sales of non-electric cars have been subsidizing the development of EVs via nonconsensual wealth transfers – which are fundamentally mo different than the way Obamacare mulcts the young, healthy and responsible for the benefit of the old, sick and irresponsible.

CAFE – The government has been decreeing that vehicles must average “X” miles-per-gallon since the 1970s, which has distorted the car market in numerous ways most people are unaware of.

CAFE – rather than changing market tastes – caused the extinction of the large, rear-wheel-drive sedans and wagons with big V8s that were commonly bought by average people pre-CAFE. These were reincarnated in the form of large, V8 SUVs (which for a time were held to a much lower CAFE standard; this provided an end-run around the CAFE mandate in favor of the market).

CAFE also subsidizes EVs – by imposing another de facto production mandate.

Since electric cars use no gas, there is an artificial, at-gunpoint incentive (CAFE is not a voluntary program) to add more EVs to the lineup, in order to bump up the overall average mileage of the company’s lineup of vehicles.

The real reason for the otherwise inexplicable announcements by so many car companies that they will shortly be adding EVs to their lineups is not because of market demand but because they feel the tip of the CAFE bayonet in the small of their backs.

The mandatory minimum which each car company’s fleet was required to average increased slowly and incrementally for decades  – until recently.

In the last year of the Obama presidency, a fatwa – a decree handed down by a federal bureaucracy – announced that the current standard would be almost doubled to 50-plus MPG by the mid 2020s.

There is no known way to achieve compliance with such a standard without lots of EVs. And this is one of the main reasons for the sudden “commitment” to EVs.

This time, the subsidization of EVs will come directly from the buyers – whose choices are being artificially and coercively winnowed down to only EVs – or a diminishing number of non-EVs, the prices of which will become exorbitant via federal fines and price-padding by their manufacturers, to offset the losses incurred by the artificial tide of EVs.

IC No-Go Zones – In Europe, which is a big market and also the home market of several major brands such as VW/Audi, BMW and Mercedes (as well as Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo) laws have been passed forbidding the use of non-electric cars in certain areas, such as downtown areas of cities – rendering cars which are not electric cars essentially useless to their owners.

This is another legislated inducement that favors EVs using force – by forcing people to not use (or buy) cars which aren’t electric. It is also another means by which EVs are subsidized – at gunpoint – via the offices of government. People are forced to either buy the EV – which costs substantially more than an IC-engined car – or pay more for the remaining non-IC cars, which are used to subsidize the EVs.

While the U.S. hasn’t yet got IC No-Go Zones, the odds are high that they will appear in Leftward-controlled areas such as CA and even if they don’t, the fact that they already exist in Europe – where all those major brands are headquartered – effectively forces those manufacturers to build the EVs and attempt to “sell” them everywhere – including here.

Consider it Obamacare on wheels.

. . .

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30 COMMENTS

  1. Obamacare…the disaster that keeps on taking. And taking.

    The best that could happen is that all these bureaucratic rules could be eliminated with Roundup. Wiped away from the Federal Register at the root, never to allow their effects to see the light of day again.

    As one friend of mine said, if he would ever be elected President, he would do two things;

    1. Demand a recount;
    2. Eliminate every agency under his command that begins with a letter.

    Considering that those two things should be done before the evening news on his first day, he would then resign, saying that he kept every promise he made.

  2. “(T)he Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram 1500” are not big trucks.
    The best selling big truck would be more likely Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbilt, International, or Volvo.

  3. EV cars are totally unpracticable, who wants to run around looking for an extension cord every night. Not to mention people without a garage or who park in the street are out of luck. I would say hybrids like the Prius are more promising but it appears that the focus is on EV.

    • You know, I had never thought of the street-parking issue. I’m having visions of a pedestrian tripping over an extension cord every 20 feet on a South St. Louis sidewalk. Personal injury attorneys should take note.

      • Hi Roland,

        Yes – and it’s even worse than that. Keep in mind that an EV requires orders of magnitude longer to recharge than a standard car needs to refuel. If you thought the gas lines of the ’70s were something… wait.

        Literally.

        In the time it takes 10 standard cars to fill up at a pump, one EV can recover a partial recharge at a “fast” charger.

        Multiply that by a few million EVs…

        The country is seized by dementia.

  4. There isn’t a carbon credit or tax scheme presently in CA or the USA at present. What CA has is a ‘zero emissions’ minimum to sell cars in the state. It is credits for that which TM sells. There may be a federal scheme of similar construction, but I don’t recall. In any case it makes TM’s bottom line dependent on selling these paper credits to other auto manufacturers.

  5. Everyone has a price.

    Would you teach a North Korean spy English if you were paid $500 per hour?

    Would you teach a North Korean spy English if you thought he was from South Korea?

    Would you torture a Muslim if you thought he was a terrorist?

    Would you torture a Muslim if the US government paid you a $1000 per hour?

    Would you make a movie praising Communism if you were paid $1 million?

    • 1. no
      2. no
      3. no
      4. no
      5. no
      not ‘everyone’ has their price and can be bought and bribed. Some still have their conscious and morals still intact.

    • Not just no, but HELL NO. I don’t even take Social Security or Medicare (yes, I’m more than old enough) because I have no interest in the federal mafia and its stolen goods.

      • Hi Jason,

        Amen.

        So far, I haven’t either.

        Times were extremely tight after my divorce. I suppose I could have stuck my paw into other people’s pockets – via Uncle – and got myself some EBT sushi.

        Instead, I hunkered down and figured it out. Always have – hope I always will.

        I would happily sign a contract agreeing to forgo one red cent of Social Security in exchange for no longer being forced to “contribute.” And I have “contributed” a lot of money over my lifetime. If I had that money now, I’d have no financial worries at all.

        Even so, I only want what’s mine.

        I am not interested in what belongs to others.

        • Hi, Eric, I have said the same thing for years (I would gladly give up SS benefits for the bigger benefit of being left alone – forever). But, this is not likely to happen because they don’t want to leave me alone.

          I would have gone one step further. I would have offered to pay my portion of the national debt if they would leave me alone and never tax me again – for anything. Again, not likely to happen, and I couldn’t pay what I supposedly owe, now, anyway.

          I think we’re all going to have to hunker down and figure it out, as our once-great Republic implodes.

        • “I am not interested in what belongs to others.”
          Gee, I thought you were a supporter of free trade, which wouldn’t have anything to do if nobody wanted what anyone else had.

    • Your questions presuppose that the activity in question might be wrong. What would be wrong with teaching a NK spy English? He’s not spying on me. He’s not committing a crime (in my book) because I don’t believe that government should have secrets which deserve to be protected. Why should I care if he spies against my stupid government? Might be an improvement. Maybe I’ll know something I should have already known. Same thing if I mistake him for being from SK.

      If I thought Communism was great, of course I would make a movie praising it if someone paid me a million dollars. If I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t.

      The other two questions involve personal harm to another person who has not harmed me (yet). Even if he harmed me, that doesn’t give me license to torture him. If I thought he was a terrorist, or knew he was, I’d stop him, but not torture him. So, no, I wouldn’t torture anybody, whether I was paid, or not.

  6. If they ever forbid IC cars here in downtown Tulsa, I am looking forward to leaving 2 12″ wide black marks up and down their precious electric only streets with my 71 Charger 440. I imagine I wouldn’t be the only one.

    We are already afflicted with the trendy little electric scooters ridden by overweight, too lazy to walk, 20 somethings. Every time I see one of these it reminds me of the people in Wall-E, scooting around on their little carts because they were too out of shape to walk.

    • A hopped up full-size diesel truck would be a better statement. You can still leave the black marks and better yet leave em a thick black cloud for the weinnie tree huggers to choke on.

  7. Dont forget road taxes via GPS or by miles driven.I see GPS myself,they can adjust rates based on traffic flows.Lots of traffic,wooYah! That rate goes sky high.Of course they will increase,constantly,with little notice and certainly no oversight.
    We ALWAYS have to follow the money,thats what everything is about.This is a huge social engineering scam.

  8. It all seems like insanity until you step back and see the big picture. Uncle’s long term goal is to force people to walk, pedal, or rely on public transportation. When that happens, the police state that beaurocrats have had wet dreams over becomes reality for them and a orwellian nightmare for us.

    • Allen,

      “When that happens, the police state that beaurocrats have had wet dreams over becomes reality for them and a orwellian nightmare for us.”

      When that happens?!?

      You must have missed the news some 28 years ago.

      The day after the “official” dismantling of the Berlin Wall began, (that would have been Flag Day), the Supreme Court de los Estados Unidos declared checkpoints for everyone.

      Try to keep up on current events Allen. That beautiful barbed wire comrade Trump ordered the army to install in Texas last week is meant to keep you in.

      I’ll give you some inside info Allen. When the Sonderkommando tells you to remember what hook number you hung your clothes on, that Orwellian nightmare of the future will already be over.

      • You are correct in that manner. When it becomes “ necessary to have travel papers issued by the STATE to just travel to work, vacation, or to visit the next county over, then Orwellian nightmare becomes reality. That is if you’re allowed to own your own auto by then.

        • Allen,

          You said >>When it becomes “ necessary to have travel papers issued by the STATE to just travel to work, vacation, or to visit the next county over, then Orwellian nightmare becomes reality. <<

          Again, try to keep up with current events.

          Just because a drivers license and vehicle registration don’t say TRAVEL PAPERS or TRAVEL PASS doesn’t mean you don’t need them “to just
          travel to work, vacation, or to visit the next county over”.

          The first step is to admit you live in a police state.

          Big Brother is watching YOU.

          You have been paying tolls at every booth along the road to serfdom. Embrace your servitude.

          Graduate from Room 101 (or maybe you’re sincere and already have.)

  9. The Carbon Credit thing is just corporate socialism for the Mega Energy Corp X. Al Gore was smart, he knows what greases the wheels in the US and globally, he is a great capitalist to boot. What do I mean? I mean the big oil companies and semi-public energy companies make a lot of money off of carbon credits. They use them and their cash/weight to kill competitors who cannot afford to go green and then uncle sam rewards them with it. A simple google search for Exxon and BP and Shell will elucidate the matter. Once again, it was never about the environment and all about money and who is in power.

    • Wait, I’m a frog? Oh my God this water is boiling!!! Make it stop!

      We can all be forgiven for not seeing the matrix from time to time.

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