OBAMA gets TOUGH

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

With your logic, the government is bullying people to put solar panels on their homes because there is a tax rebate offered when you install solar power.

That doesn't make any sense at all. Is there going to be a requirement that all new homes use a certain percentage less energy by 2016? And anyways, solar panels wouldn't work on all homes.

[TheSpecialist]

Paying 25% less in fuel costs isn't an incentive?

Don't worry by the time this goes into effect, with the new gas taxes and all gas will be 10 bucks a gal and it will be a wash.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by fishbones

That doesn't make any sense at all. Is there going to be a requirement that all new homes use a certain percentage less energy by 2016? And anyways, solar panels wouldn't work on all homes.

There's no requirement that you have to buy an America car. What part doesn't make sense? You were saying that a tax incentive for buying a hybrid is the government bullying the consumer into buying a hybrid car they supposedly didn't want.

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

There's no requirement that you have to buy an America car. What part doesn't make sense? You were saying that a tax incentive for buying a hybrid is the government bullying the consumer into buying a hybrid car they supposedly didn't want.

This thread is about requiring certain MPG's for cars as of 2016. I made no mention of tax incentives.

But, since you brought it up, where does the money for the "tax incentives" for people who buy hybrids come from? Does the government sell cookies or magazines door to door? Or, do they set up a lemonade stand in front of the Capital building? I'd be curious to find out where all the "tax incentive" dough comes from.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by fishbones

This thread is about requiring certain MPG's for cars as of 2016. I made no mention of tax incentives.

But, since you brought it up, where does the money for the "tax incentives" for people who buy hybrids come from? Does the government sell cookies or magazines door to door? Or, do they set up a lemonade stand in front of the Capital building? I'd be curious to find out where all the "tax incentive" dough comes from.

If you said nothing about tax incentives, then where does any of this come from?

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

Paying 25% less in fuel costs isn't an incentive?

A tax benefit provided by many states for people buying a hybrid is not an incentive?

Did the large increase in demand for hybrids coincidentally coincide exactly with a massive increase in gas prices, and then demand decrease as prices at the pump decreased?

Let's not forget that while we may not see $4 at the pump this summer, when inflation skyrockets over the next year or two and the price of oil climbs ridiculously again, $5/gallon will become a very real possibility.

Seems like you're the one that doesn't understand.

Originally Posted by fishbones

Johnny, are you saying that the government should try to bully people into buying cars they don't want because of tax incentives? If the car companies made a car I liked in a hybrid, I'd consider it. But at this point, there isn't a hybrid that suits my wants/needs.

My whole comment was in reply to a comment about there supposedly not being any incentives for American consumers to purchase the cars that will be coming out with higher MPG and about how if the MPG is increased by 25%, then the consumer incentive will be a savings of 25% at the pump. With regards to hybrids, there are tax benefits to the incentives.

So please explain how anything in my post about incentives implies some outlandish view about the government bullying consumers to buy cars they don't want. It's not like the government is saying "For every non-American car you buy, your income will be taxed at a higher bracket."

How exactly does increasing the mandated MPG to an amount agreed upon with the automotive industry constituted bullying?