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>So the government is now a venture capitalist or investment bank and should be encouraged to pick winners and losers now? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gen

by scythe 13y ago

>So the government is now a venture capitalist or investment bank and should be encouraged to pick winners and losers now? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General_Theory_of_Employment,_Interest_and_Money http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General_Theory_of_Employmen... We've come a long way since the 1930s, haven't we? Yes, the government can do these things, and -gasp- it works, on a small scale, under certain conditions (economic depression). The "$500m subsidy" to Tesla costs taxpayers zero after being repaid -- but represents a loan from the median taxpayer of about, oh, I dunno, seventy-five cents.

bob13579 13y ago
The federal tax credit of $7,500, plus any state subsidies, for each Tesla sold doesn't ring a bell to you?
- scythe 13y ago
  I should perhaps note that that isn't a subsidy to Tesla: it applies to every electric car manufacturer. It's not relevant to the question, which is, "did Tesla succeed "unfairly" w.r.t. other makers?". It's also a red herring for your previous argument about inequality: "Both the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, launched in December 2010, are eligible for the maximum $7,500 tax credit." -- these are cheap vehicles. But yes, now that you've successfully moved the goalpost, I might have to revise my estimate of seventy-five cents.
  - bob13579 13y ago
    This is just funny. Which car manufacturers on that $7,500 federal tax subsidy electric car list get $500M loans to build out their electric cars?
    - scythe 13y ago
      Does it actually matter? Here the one thing, there the other. You're complaining about "government picking winners and losers with taxpayer money". The loan isn't a waste of taxpayer money. The subsidy isn't picking winners and losers. Taken together, these two things do not provide weight to your claim: Tesla is not a messiah of the government on the wings of the taxpayers. Or, at least, you have failed to demonstrate that.

by scythe 13y ago

bob13579 13y ago

The federal tax credit of $7,500, plus any state subsidies, for each Tesla sold doesn't ring a bell to you?

scythe 13y ago
I should perhaps note that that isn't a subsidy to Tesla: it applies to every electric car manufacturer. It's not relevant to the question, which is, "did Tesla succeed "unfairly" w.r.t. other makers?". It's also a red herring for your previous argument about inequality: "Both the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, launched in December 2010, are eligible for the maximum $7,500 tax credit." -- these are cheap vehicles. But yes, now that you've successfully moved the goalpost, I might have to revise my estimate of seventy-five cents.
- bob13579 13y ago
  This is just funny. Which car manufacturers on that $7,500 federal tax subsidy electric car list get $500M loans to build out their electric cars?
  - scythe 13y ago
    Does it actually matter? Here the one thing, there the other. You're complaining about "government picking winners and losers with taxpayer money". The loan isn't a waste of taxpayer money. The subsidy isn't picking winners and losers. Taken together, these two things do not provide weight to your claim: Tesla is not a messiah of the government on the wings of the taxpayers. Or, at least, you have failed to demonstrate that.