>Are you saying the new energy bill reduces the number of vehicles that can receive tax credits from whatever the number was to 60k?
Yes... I don't believe that there was a limit. I mean, as far as I know, more than 60K hybrids have been sold in this country this year so far, and if I were to buy an Accord hybrid today (which isn't too far off), I'd still get that tax credit.
>That's not the point - I think the goal is to encourage them to find more domestic oil and thus reduce US dependence on foreign oil. Just because they are currently profitable doesn't mean the government SHOULDN'T encourage them to find more domestic oil.
As I said, they're lobbying their asses off to be able to go after oil in places that would be environmentally disastrous, and this encourages them to do so.
>Fine, money spent for alternative energy sounds desirable, if it actually discovers something. On the other hand, if it discovers nothing, that would be a bummer and a big waste of money
It doesn't have to go to the energy companies... why couldn't $3 billion be used to encourage automakers to build hybrids, or to subsidize hydrogen stations?
>You mean no sales taxes on SUVs? Why is that?
It's a widely used loophole meant for farm-equipment, but used by consumers to buy SUVs and big trucks. Dems in Congress have been trying to close it for a while, but the crazies in Congress who say "I love my SUV with my gun rack" have purposely prevented that from happening.
>Dude! It's not called the environmentalist's bill, it's the energy bill! What the hell were you expecting, an energy bill that lowered Greenpeace's taxes? :-)
I was expecting what we got -- Bush has been pushing this bill since 2001. But I agree with MM -- it's horrible, horrible, horrible.
>No. But I think you are changing the subject. I wanted to know why mindmeld thought the energy bill was bad for energy location and usage, I was not interested in the environment (I live in a desert, it's hot all day, every day!).
So apparently you don't see why energy and the environment are related. Believe me, in U.S. politics, they're a lot more related than energy and the "war on terror" or whatever it's being called now.
-Z |
