All fair and in agreement of what I think as well, you wouldn't buy something that doesn't meet standards and that van met what you deemed okay.

I only want to make sure that what the manufacture claims something does it actually does. Be that good performance or bad, but I want the info to be accurate so I can pick what I actually want.

I would only put kids if I have them in certain cars under assumption that they crash as claimed. For myself however I'm more flexible on what I drive but I do have standards, that's why I stopped using the Jeep except for very close by low speed driving. I prefer my wife use something that crashes well but it's her choice, I perfer what I drive in terms of crash rating etc for longer trips so I don't have to think about it.

 

Sorry, it's not how it works. Choosing a car you want is a privilege. Clean air is a fundamental right. It's you who should pay me for polluting.
The problem with CAFE is not the government. The problem is consumer choice. The Earth is a finite resource. Just because you can afford to consume more of this resource doesn't mean that it's your right. It's an interconnected world. This applies to both, individual and collective level. Remember Hitler and his "Lebensraum"? Or European colonialism? Having the military, economic or technological power to take other peoples' resources it doesn't mean you have the right to do so. The same applies to individual actions. Having the money (as individual or nation) to pollute doesn't mean that you have a right to do it.
Now, I fully support the idea of free choice. If you want to own and drive a car that is bigger than you need, fine with me. Just pay the appropriate price for taking a higher fraction of Earth's resources. In some countries you pay up to 100% tax on a new car depending on engine displacement. And higher road / use taxes. And that is fair. We would not need drastic CAFE rules if most people acted responsibly and chose cars they actually need. But because most peoples' "wants" exceed their "needs", we all pay the price.

 

Then I should be able to stop you from buying anything from overseas since it's by far and away the greatest threat to clean air. Period. You don't need to import Chinese made crap but choose to anyway to the harm of all of us.

How's that logic work for you?

 

Absolutely. We should not be buying stuff from sources that impose heavier than fair burden on the environment. Either as individuals or through government action. The problem is that people want cheap stuff from Walmart, rather then buy responsibly.

 

We live in the Southwest. Our use of air conditioning is arguably doing more to contribute to climate change than the cars we drive. Should we give up AC? I know I sure won't.

 

Guys, enough of the debate about environmental policy. Stay on topic or the thread will be closed.

 

I live in the Southwest, too. It's 104 F outside right now. A/C is a necessity here for survival reasons. Just like heating is a necessity in cold climate. The difference is in responsible and irresponsible use. I know quite a few people who set their A/C to 68 or 70 F in summer, and heating to 75 F in winter. In a five bedroom house occupied by two people. Or people who have leaky A/C and continuously have to add refrigerant to keep it running.
Having a car in the US is a necessity because public transportation infrastructure sucks. What car you drive is a choice. You can drive any car you want, as long as you pay your fair share. There should be an additional road tax for all cars with less than 30 mph fuel efficiency.
Unfortunately in the US, the whole tributary system is designed to favor the wealthy, at the expense of the working class. Including myself. I am about to retire and I will pay almost no taxes on income from my investments, and much less then my employees who earn significantly less than me If you are in the top 10-15% of the wealth bracket, you're blessed. No so much if you are middle class.
If you go back in time and consider the 1950s and 1960s, the taxation was much more fair then than it is today. All the way up to 1963, the top income tax bracket was 91%. 1965 to 1981 it was 70%. Corporate tax rate was around 50% We should go back to these tax rates and Make America Great Again. Pay for failing infrastructure, higher education (which in the end is the base of prosperity as educated workforce is a competitive advantage), scientific and technology research (remember project Apollo?) and affordable healthcare. Create more incentives to promote energy efficiency.
The whole "trickle down" economic theory is the biggest lie ever. Investment does NOT create wealth, consumption does. If you give an extra $1000 to a rich person, he/she will "invest" it in some speculative asset, only driving stock market up, but without actually producing anything. You give the same $1000 to a person in the lower 50% of the wealth pyramid, he/she will spend it immediately on goods and services, creating jobs.
Tax the rich, increase wages and decrease tax burden on middle class. This is what drives the economy.
Drifted off topic, but whatever, this is what internet is for, lol.

 

There already is, it's called the gas guzzler tax and it's paid when you buy it.

Your economic theory is very wrong when you observe what actually happened to the currency when everyone got $1200, I'll leave it that.

 

This is what happened. The blue line is unemployment. The orange lines are stimulus dates. The economic stimulus created consumption and helped reduce unemployment. Without the stimulus, unemployment would stayed ~10% for several years, we would probably hover around 7-8% unemployment today. The only issue with the stimulus was that the third round ($1400 in March 2021) should have been very selective and only go to people in the lowest income categories. Unfortunately, for most people the 3rd round wasn't really necessary and created inflation. Hindsight is 20/20. The first two rounds of stimulus worked exactly as intended and saved the economy from a total collapse. The 3rd round created more issues than it resolved.

 

Completely ignored two moderators' requests.

Closed thread.