Letter: The exact opposite of capitalism
Back in November, in anticipation of Ogden Newspapers closing on its purchase of the Vail Daily, I questioned how long the new owner would clutter the pages of its newly-acquired newspaper with mindless drivel from the likes of Claire Noble.
Not too long thereafter, big-government-worshipping Noble announced that she would no longer be writing for the Vail Daily and would be pursuing a new career, and of course, she went to work for, you guessed it, government.
Even under the new ownership, we’re still left with Richard Carnes, who has been writing for way too long about topics he knows nothing about.
His latest folly “Don’t want it, don’t get it” makes you wonder whether Ogden seriously has a profit motive. This is the best they can print?
Carnes foolishly asserts “EVs are simply the capitalist evolution of consumer transportation.” Nothing could be further from the truth. A simple internet search would reveal to him that the government has forced fuel economy standards and zero-emission vehicle credits on automakers and ultimately auto buyers.
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ZEV credits work such that government fines automakers for every internal combustion engine vehicle they sell and turns around and gifts that money to EV makers. So a single mom buying a minivan or a small business owner buying a work truck pays a few thousand extra and that money is gifted to EV makers like Tesla. Without ZEV credits and other government support and subsidies, Tesla, for example, would not be where it is today.
To make matters worse, the federal government gifts a refundable tax credit to anyone buying an electric vehicle. Those credits are funded by those choosing not to buy an electric vehicle.
Further, liberal governments around the world continue to force unachievable fuel economy standards on automakers, the costs of which are ultimately absorbed by auto buyers. Wonder why vehicles are so darn expensive?
Just today, the CEO of Renault has warned new European emissions regulations could cost up to 70,000 jobs in France, despite delivering little benefit in tackling climate change.
Hey, Richard — this is the exact opposite of capitalism. This is the very definition of government run amok.
Ogden, please, again, let’s create a fun and informative community newspaper for our valley. Perhaps you could print some fuel and grocery coupons in your newspaper in place of these goofball musings.
Michael E. Wheeler
Eagle
