Obama To Decide 2011-2015 CAFE Rules
George W Bush is inspiring another round of “kick the can/punt the ball” criticisms today by delaying a decision on 2011-2015 CAFE rules until after Obama takes office. “The recent financial difficulties of the automobile industry will require the next administration to conduct a thorough review of matters affecting the industry, including how to effectively implement,” explains a Department of Transportation statement reported in Automotive News [sub]. Current energy policy requires a 35 mpg fleet average by 2020, a 40 percent increase over the current standard of 27.5 mpg for cars and 23.1 mpg for light trucks. Considerable controversy exists over how quickly to ramp up to that standard, as the expense to automakers competes with environmentalist agendas for political sympathy. Since Obama will end up with the final say on the current (and future) auto bailouts, CAFE-setting power will give him another bargaining chip with Detroit. He just has to make a CAFE decision by the April 1 deadline. Unless of course he scraps CAFE in favor of a carbon or gas tax. In any case, it’s just a little more uncertainty to swirl on an auto industry future that is already as clear as mud.
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@Qwerty and Bluecon, Do you really think one side is any different than the other? For every Dem you single out, they can name the equal [insert theif, fanatic, fraudster (I like that word!)] of the GOP. Obama no better/no worse the GWB. He is not the savior. He is just another Huckster wearing the other teams uniform.
@ reclusive_in_nature Great idea. Democracy. The ancient Greeks, or at least what we know from Plato, felt that the citizens had to be all equally well informed to make democratic decisions. In a selfish, materialistic, commercial mass media world, where do you think Democracy falls down perhaps?
reclusive: if the gas price fairly reflected the externalized costs of the car-oriented infrastructure, you can be fairly certain that small and fuel-efficient cars would be exactly what people want. Democracy isn't just about the will of the people. It is about choosing leaders based on shared values that will lead the country. If the US was a truly direct democracy, black and hispanic people would probably not be allowed to vote. Is that the kind of progress we'd prefer?