Electric Vehicles
Blog
Biden’s Electric Vehicle Push Shows He Hasn’t Learned from California’s Mistakes
President Biden announced new federal action on Thursday designed to increase the role of government officials as car salesmen. Politico reports that Biden signed an executive order “setting a target that half of all new vehicle sales by 2030 will be zero-emissions vehicles, primarily electric cars and trucks.” The administration ...
Tim Anaya
August 6, 2021
Blog
It’s Finally Infrastructure Week . . . But Is That a Good Thing?
At long last, it’s finally “Infrastructure Week.” On Wednesday, a group of Republican and Democrat senators resolved their final differences with President Biden and reached a long-elusive agreement on a bipartisan infrastructure bill authorizing $550 billion in new spending over 5 years. Later that night, the Senate voted 67 to ...
Tim Anaya
July 30, 2021
Blog
President Reagan’s Famous Line Aptly Describes Governor Newsom’s Electric Vehicle Subsidies
Paraphrasing President Reagan, “California’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” In this case, Governor Newsom wants electric vehicles to move – both literally and figuratively. ...
Wayne Winegarden
July 12, 2021
Blog
Been There, Done That on Costly Subsidies for the Rich
President Biden has proposed $174 billion in federal electric car subsidies, which research shows have been little more than giveaways to wealthy car buyers. California Has “Been There, Done That” California is one of the nation’s leaders in offering taxpayer-funded subsidies to purchase new electric cars. State tax credits ...
Pacific Research Institute
July 8, 2021
Blackouts
The Greener California Becomes, The More Energy Problems It Creates
The phrase “going green” is supposed to evoke images of bright, clear and clean skies; lush vegetation; the efficient and effective use of resources; and cheap, non-polluting energy. Yet it produces more darkness than light. With the arrival of intense summer heat came a reminder from the California Independent System ...
Kerry Jackson
June 30, 2021
Climate Change
The SEC Risks Misinformation If Standardized And Detailed Climate Risks Disclosures Are Adopted
Based on the well-established materiality standard, public companies must disclose any potential financial risks from global climate change. The SEC is questioning whether these disclosures are inadequate, and is considering additional more detailed and standardized disclosure standards. Imposing such standards would be costly for public companies and will lessen investors ...
Wayne Winegarden
June 21, 2021
Business & Economics
Replace gas tax with more efficient, fairer mileage fee
California policymakers have spent years debating how to pay for road and highway repairs. President Biden’s current infrastructure plan brings that debate to the national stage. Like its peers, California relies on a gas tax and registration fees to pay for infrastructure. But policymakers should cut registration fees and replace ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 5, 2021
Climate Change
President Biden’s 50% Emissions Reduction Target Is Political Theater, Not Serious Policy
At the 2021 global climate summit, President Biden committed the U.S. to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Cutting emissions in half is a great talking point and a satisfying sounding goal. Unfortunately, the 50% – 52% reduction goal is more of a political statement than an achievable policy. ...
Wayne Winegarden
April 22, 2021
Blog
New Caltrans Report Latest Reminders That Sacramento Continues to Shortchange Congestion Relief
Caltrans last week released a draft of its 2021 “State Highway System Maintenance Plan,” which is a biannual report estimating the state’s highway repair needs, available funding, and strategies for keeping the state’s roadways running efficiently over the next decade. The Sacramento Bee’s headline on the report’s release says it ...
Tim Anaya
April 19, 2021
Blog
Corrupting Infrastructure in Order to Expand the Federal Government’s Size and Scope
Allusions to George Orwell’s 1984 are often overdone, but the applicability is simply too great to ignore. After all, how else do you refer to a proposed $2.7 trillion infrastructure package that spends only 16-cents on the dollar for infrastructure? Having reviewed the President’s proposed package based on the White ...
Wayne Winegarden
April 15, 2021
Biden’s Electric Vehicle Push Shows He Hasn’t Learned from California’s Mistakes
President Biden announced new federal action on Thursday designed to increase the role of government officials as car salesmen. Politico reports that Biden signed an executive order “setting a target that half of all new vehicle sales by 2030 will be zero-emissions vehicles, primarily electric cars and trucks.” The administration ...
It’s Finally Infrastructure Week . . . But Is That a Good Thing?
At long last, it’s finally “Infrastructure Week.” On Wednesday, a group of Republican and Democrat senators resolved their final differences with President Biden and reached a long-elusive agreement on a bipartisan infrastructure bill authorizing $550 billion in new spending over 5 years. Later that night, the Senate voted 67 to ...
President Reagan’s Famous Line Aptly Describes Governor Newsom’s Electric Vehicle Subsidies
Paraphrasing President Reagan, “California’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” In this case, Governor Newsom wants electric vehicles to move – both literally and figuratively. ...
Been There, Done That on Costly Subsidies for the Rich
President Biden has proposed $174 billion in federal electric car subsidies, which research shows have been little more than giveaways to wealthy car buyers. California Has “Been There, Done That” California is one of the nation’s leaders in offering taxpayer-funded subsidies to purchase new electric cars. State tax credits ...
The Greener California Becomes, The More Energy Problems It Creates
The phrase “going green” is supposed to evoke images of bright, clear and clean skies; lush vegetation; the efficient and effective use of resources; and cheap, non-polluting energy. Yet it produces more darkness than light. With the arrival of intense summer heat came a reminder from the California Independent System ...
The SEC Risks Misinformation If Standardized And Detailed Climate Risks Disclosures Are Adopted
Based on the well-established materiality standard, public companies must disclose any potential financial risks from global climate change. The SEC is questioning whether these disclosures are inadequate, and is considering additional more detailed and standardized disclosure standards. Imposing such standards would be costly for public companies and will lessen investors ...
Replace gas tax with more efficient, fairer mileage fee
California policymakers have spent years debating how to pay for road and highway repairs. President Biden’s current infrastructure plan brings that debate to the national stage. Like its peers, California relies on a gas tax and registration fees to pay for infrastructure. But policymakers should cut registration fees and replace ...
President Biden’s 50% Emissions Reduction Target Is Political Theater, Not Serious Policy
At the 2021 global climate summit, President Biden committed the U.S. to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Cutting emissions in half is a great talking point and a satisfying sounding goal. Unfortunately, the 50% – 52% reduction goal is more of a political statement than an achievable policy. ...
New Caltrans Report Latest Reminders That Sacramento Continues to Shortchange Congestion Relief
Caltrans last week released a draft of its 2021 “State Highway System Maintenance Plan,” which is a biannual report estimating the state’s highway repair needs, available funding, and strategies for keeping the state’s roadways running efficiently over the next decade. The Sacramento Bee’s headline on the report’s release says it ...
Corrupting Infrastructure in Order to Expand the Federal Government’s Size and Scope
Allusions to George Orwell’s 1984 are often overdone, but the applicability is simply too great to ignore. After all, how else do you refer to a proposed $2.7 trillion infrastructure package that spends only 16-cents on the dollar for infrastructure? Having reviewed the President’s proposed package based on the White ...