Less Is Still Too Much
President Trump says he want to “go back, probably, to a 2020 standard” as regards federal mandatory miles-per-gallon edicts – the latter being the right word because it’s the honest word.
A “standard” is an objective value of some kind, used to evaluate whether a given thing rises to that standard. Federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) “standards,” on the other hand, are nothing more than the federal government decreeing that all new vehicles must average an arbitrarily laid down minimum miles-per-gallon. Those that do not average say 35 miles per gallon – the standard in force in 2020 – are considered “noncompliant” and their manufacturer is punished for this via fines that are imposed for offering such “noncompliant” cars for sale.
Note the offering part.
It often – it almost always – passes without comment that no one is forced to buy a vehicle that does not average 35 MPG. People are free not to. But they aren’t free to buy a vehicle that averages less than 35 MPG in that it’s not “free” when you’re made to pay more for something. Sure, you can buy a new car with a six cylinder engine. But you probably can’
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
