One Set Of Regulations That Is Literally Killing Americans

On Friday, Investor’s Business Daily posted an editorial about the impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards on safety.

The editorial reports:

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that of the 10 cars with the highest death rates over model years 2012-2015, eight are either small or minicars. On the other hand, of the 10 cars with the lowest death rates, four were large and five were midsize. The other was a Toyota pickup.

Looked at another way, small 4-door cars had death rates more than twice those of large 4-doors. The death rate for mini station wagons was three times that of midsize wagons.

The problem is that the federal government has since the 1970s forced carmakers to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy standards. In the 1980s and early 1990s, this led to a radical downsizing of the auto fleet, which a 2002 National Research Council report concluded led to as many as 2,600 additional highway deaths in 1993 alone. (A recently published study claims that past fuel economy standards saved lives, but it focused on changes in car weight, not size.)

President Obama imposed regulations that will, if left in place, boost the overall average fuel economy standard for cars sold to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

As I reported in March (here), the CAFE Standards were supposed to be reviewed in 2017, but just before leaving office, former President Obama locked in the 54.5 miles per gallon standard. Unless this standard is reversed, there will be more American deaths on the highway in the future. This is unnecessary and harmful. Hopefully President Trump will reverse the action.

Lied To Again

The Daily Signal is reporting that thanks to more government regulations (courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency) a new car will cost you at least $3.800 more (even after fuel economy is considered).

The article reports:

When Congress and the Obama administration passed and implemented extremely strict fuel economy regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed that it would save consumers a few thousand dollars on gas and only add $948 to the price of a new car.

Three teams of independent economists and engineers went up against the EPA’s analysts—finding much larger costs and smaller benefits. The most modest of the independent estimates works out to $3,800 per vehicle, even after the fuel savings are taken into account.

The chart below is included in the article:

CarPricesBig government and government regulations impact all of us.

The article concludes:

In a recently released Heritage Foundation research paper, we’ve compared the recent price trends to the scholarly predictions, and found that if U.S. vehicle prices had followed one of the comparable trends, cars would be between $3,975 and $7,140 cheaper today than they are. This massive expense buys very little change in global warming: less than two hundredths of a degree according to the Obama administration’s own estimate.

Congress should scrap Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards entirely—they cost consumers dearly while having a negligible impact on carbon emissions. Failing that, a new administration can freeze the standards at 2016 levels to prevent the Corporate Average Fuel Economy tax from doubling by 2025, as the Obama administration has planned.

It is time to get back to the concept of laws made by Congress outlined in our Constitution, so that we can hold our lawmakers accountable. The EPA and similar organizations have become the fourth branch of government, and they need to be put out of business.

The Cost Of ‘Green’ For The Consumer

Yesterday CNS News reported that the Center for Automotive Research has released a study stating that the Obama Administration’s new fuel economy standards will result in a retail price increase for the average car of $11,000.

The article reports:

Zoe Lipman, the National Wildlife Federation’s Senior Manager for Transportation and Global Warming Solutions argued on a conference call held Thursday that the estimated fuel savings due to these standards will outweigh the “modest” motor vehicle price increases for consumers.

I pointed out in a story Tuesday that there are some valid questions as to whether or not these new fuel standards are being legally implemented. CAFE standards have been set by Congress–not by the executive branch. There are also some valid questions as to whether or not global warming is man-made. I support the idea of fuel efficient cars, but I also support the idea of America developing her natural resources and technology to make cleaner running cars.

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