Equities and terrorists

[johnblake]

Duh? Double Duh? Whatever happened to Adam Smith's 'Invisible Hand', Build it and they will, free market and all that stuff. Perhaps wishfull thinking but how much taxpayer money did we give Toyota to develop Prius?

I'm not aware of a US taxpayer subsidy for Prius development. Please elaborate. I know that there was a small tax deduction available to people who purchased hybrid cars, but my understanding is that this deduction is no longer available.

However, the "Hummer' deduction was included in bush tax cut. Judging by the number of large SUVs on the road, vs hybrids, I'd bet that the hummer deduction is costing taxpayer a lot more than the hybrid deduction costs.

Leveling the playing field is a good idea, that's why all future $ for Iraq should come directly from a oil tax. The less oil you use, the less you contribute.

I don't believe that alternative renewable sources will allow us to continue on our energy binge -- that's why efficient energy use, and conservation, needs to be a part of any strategy. When the government sells bonds to pay for war and aid to keep the price of oil low, people don't understand the real costs. If these prices were factored in, market forces would force effiecient energy use and conservation.

The tax on oil should include the costs of keeping prices low, as well as the cost of pollultion. The same approach would be used for other energy sources. For example, the cost of a hybrid would include the cost of disposing the battery.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I think mick was being facetious.

However, the US and other governments have certainly put some money into battery and electric car development efforts.

How much of that toyota borrowed or licensed into their products is probably highly debatable.

Here's another stat I saw though...increasing average SUV mileage from 15 to 18 would be equivalent to selling 10,000 electric cars per year. Who knows where THAT came from but its fun to think about alternatives.

By the way, my big fat expedition has been sitting in the driveway since gas went over 2 bucks here. We've been driving the wifes Rav4 at 2x the mileage since then. The dogs HATE the smaller truck, and run to the expedition and look hopefully at me, then almost appear dejected when I open the back door to the rav...