President Joe Biden has been determined to make Americans consume electric vehicles (EVs) as their to-go cars. And this includes using political power to compel car users to switch from gas cars to electric cars. President Biden argued that using electric cars would be better for the environment as it would reduce gas emissions.
Under the new regulations, automakers will be forced to rapidly curb the emission of greenhouse gases, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and particular matter from new passenger cars, light trucks, and larger pickups and vans beginning with Model 2027 vehicles. According to White House officials, the regulations will help “tackle the climate crisis’ by reducing the transportation sector’s carbon dioxide by a staggering 7.2 billion metric tons over the course of the program, which will be in effect through 2032. WH Officials also told reporters that the regulations would reduce the amount of oil consumed in the United States by billions of barrels within three decades.
The very problem with these regulations is that proceeding this way will not magically make electric cars better than gas cars. It will only undermine market mechanisms. Indeed, using political power to address economic matters does not fix or improve the matter itself.
As a matter of fact, subsidizing electric vehicles requires government spending, which can come from taxes or increased debt. This will logically strain the budget and reduce resources available for other priorities. Moreover, electric vehicles are currently more expensive than gasoline-powered cars. Subsidies may primarily benefit wealthier individuals who can already afford them, rather than stimulating broader adoption.
Using political power to alienate the use of gas-powered cars and force U.S. consumers to use electric vehicles will create a monopoly of electric vehicles in the automobile industry. Subsidies for electric cars can give them an unfair advantage over gasoline-powered vehicles. This could stifle competition and innovation in the traditional auto industry and slow down the development of more efficient gasoline engines. Preventing people from choosing will not improve the quality of the product imposed upon them.
Politicians may intervene in markets to support certain industries or companies, often for political reasons rather than economic ones. This can distort competition and lead to inefficient allocation of resources.
It is a truly bad idea for President Biden to try to extinct gas-powered vehicles by using political intervention instead of letting the market decide. If consumers believe that electric vehicles are superior to gas-powered vehicles, then demand for electric cars will naturally increase and producers will improve the production of electric cars according to that demand. However, to force or engineer demand for electric cars through political intervention is not going to improve the production and quality of electric vehicles. People have to naturally want it; they should not be forced to buy it if that’s not what they want.