California Considers Giving Away Free Electric Cars to the Poor

FrontPage Mag ^ | 12/02/2013 | Daniel Greenfield

[SeekAndFind]

What do the poor need most? Jobs? Nah. In Governor Moonbeam’s California they need free electric cars.

Free means that you’ll be paying for them. Even if you’re not a California resident, there will probably be Federal money involved.

“The California Air Resources Board is now embarking on a program that would help poor people buy energy-efficient vehicles. In one scenario posed by the agency, a “voucher” might even pay the full price for a Nissan Leaf, an electric car with an MSRP above $21,000, or for used cars with lower price tags.”

But it only stands to reason. If companies like Tesla and Karma get gobs of money from Obama. It’s time to make electric cars go full welfare.

“Apparently, wealthy people already are benefiting from subsidies to high-end electric car makers such as the Tesla. This law brings car subsidies directly to lower-income people. The law was authored by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Calabassas, recently named one of two Legislators of the Year by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers for her efforts to promote cleaner air.”

Sure. Cleaner air. Has nothing to do with a plan to buy and give away cars that no one wants.

Not even a possibility.

“It finds, for instance, the agency would need to pay the “full cost” of a vehicle for a family of two to buy a new electric car or $18,000 for a family of three to buy a used hybrid.”

Why not also buy them dinner for a year and throw in weekly theater tickets. It’s for the environment.

Come to California, where there’s no money to pay the cops or firefighters, but there’s plenty of money to buy electric cars for the poor.

[ryan71]

“a “voucher” might even pay the full price for a Nissan Leaf”

An enterprising young man might consider starting a new business in Cali....”Pimp Your Leaf”.

[CincyRichieRich]

Comically sad and stupid; typically liberal without math skills. Let me guess, plug them in at city hall for recharging? Perhaps the homeless can live in them, too.

[mosaicwolf]

These communist ideas always have unintended consequences. Lets think about this for a moment. Oh! Who is going to pay the poor owner’s electric bill?

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[nascarnation]

MSRP on a base Leaf is $28,800.
The number quoted is after federal subsidy.

[Army Air Corps]

This could lead to ObamaCars...

[Political Junkie Too]

Free cars to people who can't be burdened with getting an ID to vote?

They are either going to be driving without a driver's license, or they will be lying when they say they can't show an ID to vote.

-PJ

[Ben Hecks]

Well, at least they put out a couple of hours of heat when they catch fire.

[nascarnation]

Who is going to pay the poor owner’s electric bill?
(you and I, of course)

http://www.liheap.ncat.org/profiles/California.htm#utility

[SERKIT]

Nobody else wants them. Kind of like the “muffin stumps” from Sienfeld.

[Rusty0604]

One goal, as explained in the SB 459 fact sheet, is to promote “transportation justice.”

Another “right”?

[lurk]

Central planning. It’s smart and fun.

[stanne]

Free means you’ll be paying for them.

Right. Once again the good Mr. Greenfield doesn’t disappoint.

Every time I hear someone say something is free, I quickly correct them, and I hate to be a pain in the a but give us a break.

If it’s from the government, which does not make money, create a product or idea for sale, nor generate income.

It collects and gives away from it’s collection.

There is no such thing as free medical care.

Doctors do not work for free in this country, not as a practice. And they above all should get used to not taking from the government and giving to their patients, as they did to a great degree from the 60s to the 80s, depleting Medicare.

[COBOL2Java]

Maybe Governor Moonbeam can import Zhang Haiting's electric car:

Shanghai Welder's Electric Mini Car Goes Viral

An electric car designed and hand crafted by 60-year-old Shanghai welder Zhang Haiting has become such an internet sensation that he is now building and selling them at a modest profit.

Photos of the car — which looks like a miniature Volkswagen Beetle — have gone viral online since they were first posted by pedestrians who happened to glimpse it in May of 2010. The car has been dubbed the “Mini-Beetle” for its diminutive dimensions — just 107 cm (40 inches) long, 118 cm (43 inches) wide and 137 cm (50 inches) tall with a total weight of just 130 kg (288 pounds) thanks to the blue fiberglass shell.

The car can actually seat a passenger alongside the driver. Its 36-volt batteries powers it at a top speed of 28 kph (18 mph) for a distance of up to 60 kilometers (38 miles).

The Mini-Beetle is controlled by a steering wheel and gas and brake pedals. It has front and back turn indicators, headlights, rear-view mirrors and doors made from “soft glass” connected by magnets. The front and rear windshields are made of 2 mm bulletproof glass.

The electronic panel on the dashboard — reportedly built at a cost of 10 yuan ($1.60) — displays the car’s power, voltage and remaining battery life.

Zhang began trying to fulfill his lifelong dream of building an electric car by beginning research and development in 2007. The effort was boosted greatly by the technical skills he acquired while working for 20 years at a factory in Jilin province in northeastern China. He invented and patented a configurable swivel chair and a bicycle with wheels that can be raised. In his 20s Zhang even invented a wooden car that can be converted into a bed.

The car in which Zhang was first spotted in Shanghai is actually his third electric car. He has already sold his first two cars and is nearly finished with building his fourth. Zhang hopes one day to develop his car into a prototype that can be mass-produced for sale as a leisure utility vehicle for middle-aged people.

Zhang can make one of his cars in about two months for about 4,000 yuan ($635). He has sold his cars for just 6,000 yuan ($950) for a modest profit though his main motivation is for the fun of building them.

Zhang’s main obstacle toward becoming a serious car builder is securing financing and finding the workers to help build them.

One other hassle Zhang is facing are the tickets he keeps getting for driving an unlicensed motor vehicle. His mini Beetle doesn’t meet government regulations prohibiting electric cars from traveling faster than 20 kph (13 mph) or weighing more than 40 kg (89 pounds).

[Secret Agent Man]

they can’t maintain them, they are setting them up to fail.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

"Comically sad and stupid..."

Cosmically sad and stupid.

FIFY

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

SECTION 8 CARS will be to our roads what SECTION 8 housing is to our communities.

[MeshugeMikey]

Like your Old Ford F150? You can Keep Your F150!

[RWGinger]

come on even people in Calif can’t be this stupid.
If their lege votes for this I say we, the other 49 states vote to disown them