5 ms·

Do you suggest he should follow the example of more recent politicians and use his bully pulpit to tell the general population to go buy a $50k electric car, wh

Do you suggest he should follow the example of more recent politicians and use his bully pulpit to tell the general population to go buy a $50k electric car, when many working families live paycheck to paycheck, and are now having to decide between whether to put food on the table or fuel in their tank? It never appeared to be the man's style; he pretty much went underground after leaving office from what I remember. Environmentalism is expensive. It requires considerable capital investment and most individuals just don't have the means. Even with tax breaks and incentives, these things are still out of reach for much of the working class. Politicians are patronizing people who can't afford a new ICE vehicle, let alone an EV.

danans 5y ago
> Do you suggest he should follow the example of more recent politicians and use his bully pulpit to tell the general population to go buy a $50k electric car He should have punched up and told the auto industry to produce more efficient ICE cars and EVs to help regular Americans save money on gas. Instead, he weakened the CAFE standard [1]. And he should have advocated for more tax credits for lower income people to buy more efficient vehicles (paid for by higher taxes on high income people). 1. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060428-9.html https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/20...
- coredog64 5y ago
  CAFE is such a shitty law that the best thing you could do would be taking it behind the barn and shooting it. Rather than set a floor, it sets a ceiling. The artificial divide on fleets by where they are produced privileges UAW members over fuel economy and consumers. The class distinction ended moderately economical wagons for monster SUVs. And on and on and on. Kill it, sign a safety standards harmonization agreement with the EU and Japan, and ruthlessly prioritize making it possible for American consumers to buy the same models available in other markets where fuel economy is serious business.
  - danans 5y ago
    CAFE might be overcomplicated, but it isn't like GW Bush or others in his party (or members of Congress from Michigan of either party) were proposing alternative laws like you suggest. Their goal was and to weaken whatever efficiency requirements there are, full stop. Even the Biden administration has taken a pretty gentle regulatory hand with the auto and fossil fuel industries considering their own goals on climate change, for presumably electoral reasons.
knowaveragejoe 5y ago
ZeroGravitas 5y ago
Vimes Boots theory of environmentalism. Good boots are too expensive, liberal elites should stop trying to subsidize them. The poor are much happier paying more money in the long term constantly replacing "cheap" gas that they burn. Its ironic that the OP is praising Bush for doing things that are almost certainly saving money and paying back his investment right now, while the poor people continue to buy gas long after the initial investment would have been repaid. At least the stuff GW installed at the Whitehouse is actually helping towards a leaner, more efficient, smaller government, which people claim to be for unless it involves burning less fossil fuels.
- danans 5y ago
  > At least the stuff GW installed at the Whitehouse is actually helping towards a leaner, more efficient, smaller government, which people claim to be for unless it involves burning less fossil fuels. Typo I think?
  - ZeroGravitas 5y ago
    > Although Carter’s used solar panels have been dispersed throughout the world, solar panels returned to the White House grounds under President George W. Bush. > In 2003, Bush quietly installed a 9 kW solar system on the grounds maintenance building. He also installed two solar thermal systems to supply electricity to the White House, one to heat the spa and one to heat the pool. (I assume "electricity" is a typo in the last sentence and they just help to heat the water, but not sure). The poster here then praises him for doing similar on his own property because doing the sensible and cheapest thing is an act of political bravery apparently.
smcl 5y ago
He is still relatively popular with Republicans, who are famously skeptical of climate change and dismissive of green energy. If he was really an environmentalist he would be making some effort to reach out and persuade them to take these subjects seriously. That is table stakes - being the voice of reason would cost him absolutely nothing and could open the door for more people within the American right to come out in favour of green policies > ... and are now having to decide between whether to put food on the table or fuel in their tank? And if either side cared about this then they'd be advancing policies to improve public transport so Americans weren't so car-dependent, or doing any number of things to ease the pressure on lower-income households' budgets (increase minimum wage, make healthcare free, tackle the student debt crisis or introduce paid parental leave for starters)

danans 5y ago

> Do you suggest he should follow the example of more recent politicians and use his bully pulpit to tell the general population to go buy a $50k electric car He should have punched up and told the auto industry to produce more efficient ICE cars and EVs to help regular Americans save money on gas. Instead, he weakened the CAFE standard [1]. And he should have advocated for more tax credits for lower income people to buy more efficient vehicles (paid for by higher taxes on high income people). 1. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060428-9.html https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/20...

coredog64 5y ago
CAFE is such a shitty law that the best thing you could do would be taking it behind the barn and shooting it. Rather than set a floor, it sets a ceiling. The artificial divide on fleets by where they are produced privileges UAW members over fuel economy and consumers. The class distinction ended moderately economical wagons for monster SUVs. And on and on and on. Kill it, sign a safety standards harmonization agreement with the EU and Japan, and ruthlessly prioritize making it possible for American consumers to buy the same models available in other markets where fuel economy is serious business.
- danans 5y ago
  CAFE might be overcomplicated, but it isn't like GW Bush or others in his party (or members of Congress from Michigan of either party) were proposing alternative laws like you suggest. Their goal was and to weaken whatever efficiency requirements there are, full stop. Even the Biden administration has taken a pretty gentle regulatory hand with the auto and fossil fuel industries considering their own goals on climate change, for presumably electoral reasons.

knowaveragejoe 5y ago

ZeroGravitas 5y ago

Vimes Boots theory of environmentalism. Good boots are too expensive, liberal elites should stop trying to subsidize them. The poor are much happier paying more money in the long term constantly replacing "cheap" gas that they burn. Its ironic that the OP is praising Bush for doing things that are almost certainly saving money and paying back his investment right now, while the poor people continue to buy gas long after the initial investment would have been repaid. At least the stuff GW installed at the Whitehouse is actually helping towards a leaner, more efficient, smaller government, which people claim to be for unless it involves burning less fossil fuels.

danans 5y ago
> At least the stuff GW installed at the Whitehouse is actually helping towards a leaner, more efficient, smaller government, which people claim to be for unless it involves burning less fossil fuels. Typo I think?
- ZeroGravitas 5y ago
  > Although Carter’s used solar panels have been dispersed throughout the world, solar panels returned to the White House grounds under President George W. Bush. > In 2003, Bush quietly installed a 9 kW solar system on the grounds maintenance building. He also installed two solar thermal systems to supply electricity to the White House, one to heat the spa and one to heat the pool. (I assume "electricity" is a typo in the last sentence and they just help to heat the water, but not sure). The poster here then praises him for doing similar on his own property because doing the sensible and cheapest thing is an act of political bravery apparently.

smcl 5y ago

He is still relatively popular with Republicans, who are famously skeptical of climate change and dismissive of green energy. If he was really an environmentalist he would be making some effort to reach out and persuade them to take these subjects seriously. That is table stakes - being the voice of reason would cost him absolutely nothing and could open the door for more people within the American right to come out in favour of green policies > ... and are now having to decide between whether to put food on the table or fuel in their tank? And if either side cared about this then they'd be advancing policies to improve public transport so Americans weren't so car-dependent, or doing any number of things to ease the pressure on lower-income households' budgets (increase minimum wage, make healthcare free, tackle the student debt crisis or introduce paid parental leave for starters)