Posted by
Average Voter on Sunday, September 09, 2007 2:14:03 PM
There are a lot of people out there telling us what we should drive. Their reasons range from global warming concerns to safety on the road. One thing that they all have in common is money. If they can't make any money at it, they won't do it. That goes for car manufacturers and the private sector.
Here is one story highlighting
what the market is doing, Here is another highlighting the
entrepreneurial spirt.
"I feel so superior driving next to a Hummer and going, 'Dude, yo, look at this, this is what you should be doing,'" Brooks said.
With her earth-friendly car finder service, Biobling, Brooks is one of many entrepreneurs turning gas guzzlers into green machines as the interest in alternative fuel steadily spreads nationwide. Auto shops and online-based businesses are popping up in places as diverse as Maui, Hawaii, Louisville, Ky., Easthampton, Mass., offering do-it-yourself conversion kits, recycled vegetable oil, fuel delivery, and other services.
Economics is the driver of innovation and market strategy. If the public isn't going to buy it, then why should they sell it. Large car companies like Honda don't make Hybrids because it is good for the environment, otherwise they would have made them twenty years ago. Instead, they make them because there could be a profit in doing so. And when they don't, they get rid of it. And the government knows this, so they raise taxes on fuel and oil trying to steer the market.
When the private sector finds a niche in the eco-world, small operating costs and relative demand make it possible for them to make a buck, like Mrs. Brooks is doing.
The point is, let the market do it. Taxes are high enough. Innovation is already hard at work and more taxes are not going to make it move any faster. There has to be a balance between changing our way and still being able to make some money. At this point, more taxes and more emission regulations will act more as a lead weight on the industry, adding more cost to the price of a vehicle, and making it harder for the average citizen to afford one. Just go to a car dealership these days and look at the price of a new car. It's almost sickening.
And now the government is mandating more safety options as standard equipment. These options are good things, but it will further force the price of a car out of more peoples reach. So they will buy an older, inefficient, and less safe means of transportation. It's the law of economics.
Government pressure is needed, but it is starting to push things to far, especially when it comes to the world of transportation, and environmentalism. The two will always be at odds until the day we can transport the populations without the need of burning fossil fuels. Reasonable and timely efforts to changing things can be acheived by encourage the private sector of our economy rather than fining the citizens under the guise of scare tactics like global warming.