Long before Washington politicians provide a real answer to high fuel costs, good ole' American capitalism (you know, the greedy kind) may lower the cost of fuel, provide us with greener technology than ever before, and give us a smooth ride along the way.
GM (that's right, a profit-making, non-government organization that shamelessly asks customers to pay
for its products) is developing a mostly-electric car that will allow many Americans to virtually eliminate gas pump fillups - and for those that do fillup, to provide 150 MPG economy.
Now, if the government would just leave it alone - get out of the way - we might get our dream car from Detroit.
I'm also assuming other car companies will follow suit, meaning that old-school competition (yep, that awful, hateful, unloving concept) will provide us with better and better electric vehicles. And I'm imagining that a bunch of people will make quite a bit of money with this.
Remember, those of you who look to the federal government to solve the problems of the world, it isn't a senator that innovates a new hybrid car. It isn't a congressman who refines oil or develops clean coal technology. It isn't a president who grows the economy and makes daily life better for us and our kids. The real American heroes are these engineers at GM (and probably some great guys at the other car companies too) who are solving the world's problems.
Bravo, GM. Bravo, America.
(Hey Barack: Rather than punish the "big corporations" and "the rich" with high taxes, why not cheer them on as they forge a better future for our kids?)
Read about the concept of the Chevy Volt:
Are these the same heroes at GM who just re-negotiated contracts with 2600 employees at a plant and then shut it down 14 days later?
While your point is interesting, you could easily be asked who it was that presented GM with the incentive to produce the cars. Did GM produce it out of their deep love for the environment? Or are they perhaps responding to government pressures (both existing and imminent) to reduce emissions? Which came first? Egg? Chicken?
And while we're criticizing Barack for taxing the rich, do a quick analysis on the spread between the middle class and the super-rich. It is increasing. Wouldn't the sign of a profitable country and economic system be an increase in standard of living for all its people rather then just a select few? Could taxation be a way to achieve that?
Posted by: Joshua | June 06, 2008 at 01:11 AM
How about the consumers, and their pocketbooks?
Posted by: Dan | October 20, 2008 at 02:57 PM