If there was ever a case to abolish the EPA and mileage standards (CAFE) this is it.
Thinking about buying a new car? Well, if Obama’s EPA gets its way (and it will should Obama be reelected) you might not even be able to afford the cheapest piece of GM junk. Heritage explains:
Brace yourself. The cost of a new car in America is set to explode, skyrocketing by thousands of dollars, all thanks to a new regulation proposed by President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Under a new 893-page proposal unveiled last week, automakers must hit a fleet-wide fuel economy average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025–double today’s 27.3 standard. The government says it would cost automakers $8.5 billion per year to comply, which means a spike in sticker prices of at least $2,000 to $2,800, according to official projections. Other estimates peg the added costs at $3,100, and that could go even higher. As The Wall Street Journal writes, “Vehicles that currently cost $15,000 or less will effectively be regulated out of existence.”
Apart from increased costs, the new regulations would have other impacts on consumers as well. In a new paper, Heritage’s Diane Katz warns that another unacceptable consequence is loss of life resulting from smaller vehicles:
In past years, the structure of the regulations induced automakers to dramatically downsize some vehicles to meet the standard, which increased traffic fatalities by the thousands. The new standards would require downsizing to both small and large models, which the government contends will neutralize the risk. However, the NHTSA and the EPA disagree on the extent of the risk, while outside experts say that the danger would be heightened by the extreme stringency of the proposed standards.
While consumers struggle to pay the price of higher cost vehicles, U.S. automakers would likely take a hit as well. They would be forced to change the lineup of vehicles they offer in order to meet their fuel efficiency targets, and they would produce cars and trucks that Americans don’t even want.
This isn’t freedom, it’s communism. Central state planning. Those of you that may be in favor of this, you are communists and I’ll tell you why, in the event you’re too dense to even understand what communism is.
You would be in favor of taking away freedom of choice and freedom of commerce to name a few, and be advocating the imposition of government standards. That’s basic Marxism.
To put it in simple terms, that would be like me walking in to your business where you manufacture soda and I tell you that you can not produce regular soda anymore, it must all be sugar-free diet soda even though sugar-free diet soda makes up only 5% of your business. That’s exactly what Barack Obama and his EPA are attempting to do with the auto industry. And that my friends is pure communism.