Posted on 04/09/2007 7:37:43 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
Call it the Robin Hood approach to global warming. California drivers who buy new Hummers, Ford Expeditions and other big vehicles that emit high levels of greenhouse gases would pay a fee of up to $2,500. And drivers who buy more fuel-efficient cars - like the Toyota Prius or Ford Focus - would receive rebates of up to $2,500, straight from the gas-guzzlers' pockets.
That's the provocative proposal from a Silicon Valley legislator whose "Clean Car Discount" bill is gaining momentum, sending car dealers into a tizzy and sparking passions among motorists.
Why? It's the first time California has considered penalizing consumers to limit global warming, rather than just providing incentives such as solar power rebates or special access to the carpool lane for hybrid vehicles. "If we are going to effectively fight global warming, we are going to have to find a way to get the cleaner cars on the road and the dirtier cars off the road," said Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Los Altos. "We need to have both carrots and sticks."
Ruskin's bill, AB493, won approval of the Assembly Transportation Committee two weeks ago.
The bill has the backing of most major statewide environmental groups, who see it as one of their top priorities in 2007. And the measure received a substantial boost Friday when it was endorsed by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business organization that includes the major tech companies in Silicon Valley, including IBM, Google, Apple and Cisco. "Forty percent of California's greenhouse gases are from transportation," said Carl Guardino, the group's CEO. "This is a market-driven approach to drive the production and purchase of cleaner cars."
The bill would apply to new cars, pickups, minivans and sport-utility vehicles, starting with 2011 models.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Wow, talk about socialism’s redistribution of wealth. This brainless idea is the stupidest yet.
Don’t forget the empty transit buses that traverse the county and rarely have more than a handful of people. I tried to find public transportation for my son to go from Campbell to a class by the SJ airport (10 minute drive) The most direct route involved a bus to Mt View, 2 light rails transfers and it took at least an hour and a half (not to mention it would have cost $6/day).
So nice to see our tax $$$ at work!!
Like off the coast of California and Florida.
I hope that pinko burns in hell!
Bring back the electric trolley. Until then the antics are as amusing as watching a puppetshow where the puppet has a couple of strings missing.
You should go downtown and look at the new City office facilities our "public servants" have built to house themselves while they scheme up new ways to waste our money....
Nearby are the Libraries identified only with Spanish signs and the Hispanic Cultural Center... It all goes so well with the pile of Aztec God dog crap in the city square at West San Carlos.
Semper Fi
...because the masses are ignorant and uneducated enough to actually get suckered into the fantasyland notion that global warming is a) representative of something being "broken", b) something we're causing, and therefore c) we can/must destroy the world economy and endanger the human race in order to "fix" it.
MEMO to GW boneheads: ATMOSPHERIC CO2 IS AN EFFECT, NOT A CAUSE!
Does that count as balancing out?
Or do I get screwed because I don't have a $5,000 set of batteries like the hybrids.
As a long time observer of the anti-smoking movement, your scenario is eerily familiar. Even though (insert behavior or product here) is dangerous enough to "kill" or "end life on the planet as we know it", don't stop it, tax and regulate it to death. It takes them awhile, but the socialists learn well.
What will they do about motorhomes? Will they force me out of my Winnebago and into a Toyota/Dolphin?
You've bought into the false premise already. There is nothing to be fixed with respect to global warming. It is a completely natural phenomenon. Climate cycles have been happening for millions of years. Human activity has little overall impact on the cycles. The socialists are enjoying this red herring as a way to seize control of the ignorant masses.
I purchased a Charger SRT-8 june last year, and already had to pay ‘gas guzzler tax’ in the amount of $2,000.00.
Move. I did. Relocating from San Diego, CA to Pocatello, ID was one of my best decisions in years. The overcrowding, traffic and endless spew of new socialist legislation made it very easy to relocate. The annual amount of precipitation is almost identical. Some of it is snow...and that translates to 4 months of freedom from yard work. Spring and Fall are mild and pleasant. Summers are warm and dry...no sticky humidity. Gas prices in Pocatello this week are about $2.69/gal. Overall cost of living is much lower.
I just traded the 2003 Escape 4x4 purchased used in May 2004 for 20,000 miles on it. We added 53,000 miles. The dealer gave us $13,000 for the trade in on a 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid 4x4. The new Mariner is getting about 31 MPG on our trips to Idaho Falls (75 MPH). Puttering around town drops to 24 MPG. The battery warranty is 100,000 miles. That's about as long as I typically keep a vehicle.
We need 4x4 vehicles to negotiate the winter snow. The plows can't get into the cul-de-sac where my house is located.
“does”
I wonder if the State Board of Equalization is run by the Handicapper General. :)
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