[quote=Zeitgeist]What a waste of taxpayer money!….[/quote]
I don’t know enough about the Volt to say if it is a waste of taxpayer money. But it is clear that the Volt was created by the government deciding which technical solution to a problem was best. Yes, we like the lobby that got the government’s ear on this, because it represents smart, technical, environmentally conscious people like us. However, the problems with Solyndra and maybe the Volt show that the government is much better off providing equal incentives for any solution that works, and letting individuals and companies come up with the actual solutions.
In the case of gasoline consumption, that means applying a higher tax on oil, applied in predictable and roughly equal increments over many years, and letting the higher gas prices spur industry and people to come up with solutions. People would arrange to travel to work less, and to buy more fuel-efficient cars. Industry would adapt housing to cater to the people moving, and would make cars of all types that use less gasoline.
It’s always easier to get things done if you use the natural flow. Smart tax policy that creates incentives for a wide variety of solutions, in a way that is equal for equal results, can be far more effective than trying to pick winning solutions.
